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)6th Congress, [ SENATE. j Document 

2d tiexxloii. \ . 1 No. 229. 



LEGISLATIVE HISTORY 
GENERAL 8TAFF 

i>K ■rill': 

ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES 

(ITS OROANIZATION, DUTIES, PAY, AND ALLOWANCES), 

FROJr 

17T5 to 1901. 



COMPrLED AXD ANNOTATED UNDER THE DIRECTION OP 

Major-General HENEY 0. CORBIN, 

ADJUTANT-GENERAL OF THE ARMY, 
BY 

EAPHAEL P. THIAN, 

CHIEF CLERK ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE. 



WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 
1901. 



"A. y;oocl Staff has the inei-it of T>ein.<2; inoro diai-able thai! the 
o;en.iiis of tiiTiy one Jiiaii." — .Tomiiai. 



PREFACE. 



Traces of a general staff are found first in the Brandenburg (^after- 
wards the Prussian) army in 1G55, under the Great Elector, but its 
functions are supposed to have first been employed in Swedish organ- 
izations. 

The Russian general staff dates from the time of Peter the Great. 

The operations of the general staff' of the German army are entireh^ 
independent of the minister of war, being directed by the chief, who 
is responsible only to the Commander in Chief — the Emperor. This 
status has existed for over seventy years. 

In Russia there is no separate direction of the general stafl', the chief 
reporting directl}^ to the war minister. 

In Italy the officers of the great general staff are entirely under the 
chief of the general staff', who reports directly to the war minister. 

The chief of the general staff' in France is directly under and entirely 
subordinate to the secretary of war. 

In Austria the chief of the general staff is considered as the assistant 
of the imperial war minister. 

In England the adjutant-general's office is once removed from the 
secretary of state for war through the commander in chief of the 
army. 

The Continental Congress, June 15, 1775, unanimously elected 
Geoi-ge AVashington, esq., "to command all the continental forces, 
raised or to be raised, for the defense of American liberty," and 
resolved, July 21, "that such a body of troops be kept up in the 
Massachusetts Bay as General Washington shall think necessary, pro- 
vided they do not exceed 22,000 men.'" 

On assuming this command General Washington found an hetero- 
genous and undisciplined force which, on the call of the Massachusetts 
connnittee of safety on the morning after the affair at Lexington and 
Concord, had assembled at Cambridge in a motley host of full 20,000 
men, and immediately took measures to bring order out of confusion. 
Joseph Reed, of Philadelphia, was chosen by him for the important 
post of Secretary to the Commander in Chief. Horatio Gates was 
appointed Adjutant-General. Thomas Mifflin, Quartermaster-General, 
and Joseph Trumbull, Commissary-General. Owing to the multi- 
plicity of affairs pressing on the attention of Congress, that body, 
December 27, 1776, vested General Washington with full and com- 
plete power to displace and appoint all oflicers under the rank of 
brigadier-general and to fill up vacancies in every department in the 
American Army. 

3 



4 PEEFACE. 

In a letter dated June 13, iTTt), addressed to the President of Congress, 
General Washing-ton wrote: 

I once mentioned to Congress that I thought a war office extremely necessary, and 
they seemed inchned to institute one for our Army; Imt the affair .seems to have 
been since dropped. Give me leave again to insist on the utility and imjiortance of 
such an establishment. The more I reflect upon the subject, the more am 1 convinced 
of its necessity and that affairs can never be properly conducted without it. 

Congress having, Juno 13, 1TT6, created a Board of War, General 
Washington, seven days later, wrote to the President of Congress as 
follows : 

The instituting a AVar Office is certainly an event of great importance, and, in all 
probability, will be recorded as such in the historic page. The benefits derived from 
it, I flatter myself, will be considerable, though the plan upon which it is first 
formed may not be entirely perfect. This, like other great works, in its first edition 
may not be free from error; time will discover its defects, and exj^erience suggest the 
remedy and such further improvements as may be necessary; but it was right to give 
it a beginning, in my opinion. 

The Board of War, thus created, was the germ of the War Depart- 
ment of our Government. The evolution of the general staff of the 
American Army covers a period of man}^ years, during which tenta- 
tive measures were adopted, from time to time, to meet emergencies. 

On the eve of his recall to the supreme command of the Arm}', Gen- 
eral Washington forcibly presented his views on the subject of a gen- 
eral staff' in two letters addressed by him to Hon. James McHenry, the 
then Secretar}^ of War. July 4, 1798, he wrote: 

In forming an army, if a judicious choice is not made of the principal officers and, 
above all, of the general staff, it never can be rectified thereafter. The character 
then of the Army would be lost in the superstructure. The reputation of the com- 
mander in chief would sink with it and the country be involved in inextricable 
expense. To remark to a military man how important the general staff of an army 
is to its well being seems to be unnecessary. 

And again, on the following day: 

"The appointment of general officers is importmit, l>ut of those of the general staff 
all iniporUmi. 

The Inspector-General, Quartermaster-General, Adjutant-General, and officer com- 
manding the corps of artillerists and engineers, ought to be men of the most respect- 
able character and of first rate al)ilities, because from the nature of their respective 
offices and from their being always al)out the Commander in Chief, who is obliged to 
intrust many things to them coiijidrntialhi, scarcely any movement can take place 
without their knowledge. It follows, then, that besides possessing the qualifications 
just mentioned they ought to have those of integrity and prudence in an eminent 
degree that entire confidence might be reposed in them. Without these, and their 
being on good terms with the commanding general, his measures, if not designedly 
thwarted, may be so embarrassed as to make them move heavily on. 

If the Inspector-General is not an officer of great respectability of character, firm 
and strict in discharging the duties of the trust reposed in him, or if he is too pliant 
in his disposition, he will most assuredly be imposed upon, and the efficient strength 
and condition of the Army will not be known to the Connnr.nderin Chief. Of course 
he may form his plans uj^on erroneous calculations and connnit fatal mistakes. 

If the (Quartermaster-General is not a man of great resource and activity, and 
worthy of the highest confidence, he would l)e unfit for the military station he is to 
occupy; for, as it is not possible at all times to mask real designs and movements 
under false a])pearances, the better and safer waj^ is to place full confidence in him 
under the seal of responsibility. Then, kno\\'ing the plan, he participates in the con- 
cealment, on wliich, and the celerity of a movement, success oftentimes entirehj 
depends. In addition to these requisites in a Quarterm;;:U'r-(reneral, economy in 
pro\iiling for tiie wants of an army, ])roi)er arrangements in the (listril)ution of the 
sui)])lies, and a careful ey*; to tlie use of them is of great importance and call for a 
circumspect choice. 

The Adjutant-CTcneral ought also to be a man of established character, of great 
acttivity and experit>nce in the details of an army, and of proved integrity, or no 
alertness can be expected in the execution of the several duties consigned to him on 



PREFACE. 

the one hand, and everj'thing to be feared from treachery or neglect in his office 
on the otlier, by which the enemy might be an well informed of our strength as of 
their own. 

It was not, however, until 1812-1821 that the general staif' was organ- 
ized on correct lines and its several departments created, substantially, 
as they have remained since. 

]\Ir. Secretary Willisun H. Crawford, in a report dated December 27, 
181,"), expressed himself as follows: 

A complete organization of the staff will contribute as niucli to the economy of 
the establishment as to its etliciency. The stationery staff of a militarj' estal>lish- 
ment should be substantially the same in peace as in war, without reference to the 
numl)er or distribution of the troops of which it is composed. 

Hon, John C. Calhoun, Secretary of War, replying, December 11, 
1818, to a resolution of Congress asking what reduction, if an}^ might 
be made in the military establishment, wrote: 

The staff, as organized by the act of last session, combines simplicity with effi- 
ciency. * * * Were our military establishment reduced one-half, it is obvious 
that, if the same posts continxied to be occupied which now are, the same number of 
officers in the Quartermaster's, Paymaster's, Medical, and Adjutant and Inspector 
General's Departments would be required. 

To compare, then, as is sometimes done, our staff with those of European armies 
assembled in large bodies is manifestly unfair. The act of last session, it is believed, 
has made all the reduction which ought to be attempted. It has rendered the staff 
efficient without making it exjiensive. Such a staff is not only indispensable to the 
efficiency of the Army, but it is also necessary to a proper economy in its disburse- 
ments; and should an attempt be made at retrenchment by reducing the present 
number, it would, in its consequences, probably prove wasteful and extravagant. 

In fact, no part of .our military organization requires more attention in peace than 
the general staff. It is in every service invariably the last in attaining perfection; 
and if neglected in peace, when there is leisure, it will be impossible, in the midst 
of the hurry and bustle of war, to bring it to perfection. It is in peace that it should 
receive a perfect organization, and that the officers should be trained to method and 
])unctuality, so that at the commencement of a war, instead of creating anew, nothing 
more should be necessary than to give it the necessary enlargement. 

With a defective staff we must carry on our military operations under great dis- 
advantages, and be exposed, particularly at the commencement of a war, to great 
losses, embarrassments, and disasters. 

The histor}^ of the general stall' is marked b}- good judgment, great 
executive a])ility, and readiness of execution in emergencies. The 
value of the stall' has been fully demonstrated by the administration 
of its affairs in the wars of the past, but in none more so than during 
the late civil war, when the system was submitted to most severe tests, 
from which it emerged triumphantly. The crowning evidence of its 
thorough effectiveness w^as the preparation of the plan by the Adjutant- 
General's Department for the muster otit and disbandment at the close 
of that war of the volunteer armies, numbering over 1,500,000 officers 
and men, distributed to l,2Yl: regiments, 316 independent companies, 
and 192 Imtteries. 

The plan was submitted to the Secretary of War and the General of 
the Army and was adopted within one hour of its presentation. The 
movement homeward commenced May 29, 1805, and, had it been prac- 
(ical)lo to spare all the forces, the entire ntunber could easily have been 
mustm-ed out and returned to their homes within three months. Six 
hiuulred and fortvone thousand were mustered oitt within aboitt two 
months, 711,000 within two and a half months, and 800,963 were dis- 
charged by November 15, 1865. In his annual report for that year 
General Grant states that — 

These musters out were admirably conducted ; 800,000 men (subsequently increased 
to 1,0.S4,064) were i)assing from the Army to civil life so quickly tliat it was scarcely 
known, save by the welcomes to their homes. T? P T 



CONTENTS 



Page. 
I. General provisions affecting the several corps and departments of the 

general staff 9 

II. The Adjutant-Generars Department 49 

III. The Inspector-General's Department 83 

IV. The Judge- Advocate-General's Department 119 

V. The Quartermaster's Deimrtment 137 

VI. The Subsistence Department 235 

VII. The Medical Department 359 

VIII. The Pay Department 441 

IX. The Corps of Engineers 481 

X. The Ordnance Department 531 

XL The Signal Corps r,09 

MINOR BUREAUS. 

The Commissary-General of Musters 629 

The Commissary-General of Prisoners 637 

Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands 653 

The Provost-Marshal-General's Bureau 665 

ADDENDA. 

General provisions 681 

The (.Quartermaster's Department 686 

The Subsistence Department 687 

The Medical Department 6S0 

The ( )rdiiance Department 690 

The Signal Corps 690 

7 



I -GENERAL PROVISIONS. 



PROVISIONS AFFECTING THE SEYERAL CORPS AND 
DEPARTMENTS OF THE GENERAL STAFF. 



JOURNALS OF THE AMERICAN (CONTINENTAL) CONGRESS. 

Septemher 21, 1775. — "Whereas frequent applications are making to the General, 
Comnmnder in Chief, by officers of all ranks and denominations for an allowance of 
rations of provisions, which are not only absolntely necessary, but usual and cus- 
tomarily allowed to them, the General has thought proper to order and direct that 
from the first day of July last there be issued by the Commissary-General the fol- 
lowing proportion of rations, viz: To each major-general, 15 rations; to each briga- 
dier-general, 12 rations; to each colonel, 6 rations; to each lieutenant-colonel, 5 
rations; to eacli major, 4 rations; to each captain, 3 rations; to each subaltern, 2 
rations, and to each staff ofiicer, 2 rations. ' ' ( Orders, Oeneral Headquarters, Cambridge. ) 

March 16, 1776. — Expenses of the horses of general officers, when traveling on 
oflicial business, were to be defrayed by the Continent. 

May 10, 1776. — Resolved, That this Congress has hitherto exercised, and ought to 
retain, the power of promoting the officers in the Continental service according to 
their merit; and that no promotion or succession shall take place upon any vacancy 
without the authority of a Continental commission. 

September 9, 1776. — In all commissions the words "United Colonies" to be altered 
to "United States." 

September 16, 1776. 

Resolved, . . . That Congress make provision for granting 
lands in the following proportion: To the officers . . . who shall 
so engage in the service and continue therein to the close of the war, 
or until discharged by Congress, and to the representatives of such 
oiScers and soldiers as shall be slain by the enemy. 

Such lands to be provided by the United States, and whatever 
expense shall be necessary to procure such land the said expense shall 
be paid and borne by the States in the same proportion as the other 
expenses of the war, viz: 

To a colonel, 500 acres; to a lieutenant-colonel, 450; to a major, 400; 
to a captain, 300; to a lieutenant, 200; to an ensign, 150; each non- 
conmaissioned officer and soldier, 100. 

Sej)tei7\ber 18, 1776. 

Rr-sojred. That if rations be received by the officers ... in 
the Continental Army, in money, they be paid at the rate of g\ of a 
dollar. 

September 20, 1776. 

Tn order to prevent the officers and soldiers who shall bo entitled to 
the lands hereafter to be granted by the resolution of Congress of the 
16th from disposing of the same during the war, 

Tiemlved, That Congress will not grant lands to any person or persons 
claiming under the assignment of an officer or soldier. 

11 



12 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

December ^7, 1776. 

The Congress having maturely considered the present crisis . . . 
do hereb}^ 

Resolve., That General Washington be, and he is hereby, vested 
with full and complete power ... to displace and appoint all 
officers under the rank of brigadier-general, and to till up all vacancies 
in every . . . department in the American Army. 

* * -X- * * * -X- 

That the foregoing power be vested in General Washington for and 
during the term of six months from the date hereof, unless sooner 
determined by Congress. 

April 10, 1777. — General Washington was asked to transmit to the board of war a 
list of his appointments made under powers vested in him. 

Atcjust 14, 1777. — Congress authorized the commanding otiicer in the Northern 
Department, for four months from date of resolution, to suspend any officer under 
his command, for mal-conduct, and to appoint others in their room till such time as 
the pleasure of l-ongress can be known concerning the i^erson or persons so suspended; 
and that he report the names of such as he may suspend, with the cause of their 
suspension. 

August 23, 1777. — General Washington to be informed that Congress never intended 
by any commission hitherto granted by them, or by the establishment of any depart- 
ment whatever, to supersede or circumscribe his powers as the Commander in Chief 
of all tlie Continental forces within the United States. 

September 17, 1777. — General Washington was authorized to suspend all officers 
misl)ehaving and to fill up all vacancies under the rank of brigadier-general until 
the pleasure of Congress can be communicated; powers to continue for 60 days and 
within a radius of 70 miles of headquarters. November 14, 1777, this power was con- 
tinued to March 1, 1778, unless sooner revoked. 

January 6, 177S.^Every officer and man entering an hospital for treatment of 
secret disease to pay, respectively, |10 and $4; such moneys to be paid to the director- 
general or his order, to be appropriated to the purchase of blankets and shirts for the 
use of the sick soldiers in the hospital. 

February 3, 1778. 

Resolved, That every officer who holds or shall hereafter hold a 
commission or office from Congress shall take and subscribe the fol- 
lowing oath or affirmation: 

' ' I, , do acknowledge the United States of America to 

be free, independent, and sovereign States, and declare that the peo- 
ple thereof owe no allegiance or obedience to George the Third, King 
of Great Britain; and I renounce, refuse, and abjure any allegiance or 
obedience to him; and I do swear (or affirm) that I will, to the utmost 
of my power, support, maintain, and defend the said United States 
against the said King George the Third and his heirs and successors, 
and his and their abettors, assistants, and adherents, and will serve 

the said United States in the office of , which I now hold, with 

fidelit3^ according to the best of my skill and understanding. So help 

me God." 

* * * 

Remlved, That all officers in the Army shall take and subscribe the 
foregoing oath or affirmation before the Command ■'.r in Chief, or any 
major-general or brigadier-general. 

* * * 

That every officer, having the disposal of pul^lic money, or who is 
or shall be intrusted with the charge or distribution of public stores, 



GENERAL PROVISIONS. 13 

shall, at the time of taking and subscribing the foregoing oath or affir- 
mation, also take an oath or affirmation of office, in the following 
words, viz: 

'"I, , do swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully, truly, 

and impartially execute the office of , to which I am appointed, 

and render a true account, when thereunto required, of all public 
monies by me received or expended, and of all stores or other effects 
to me entrusted, which belong to the United States; and will, in all 
respects, discharge the trust reposed in me with justice and integrity, 
to the best of my skill and understanding." 

That every officer taking the foregoing oaths or affirmations, or 
either of them, shall obtain from the person administering the same 
duplicate certiticates specif 3'ing the time of his taking it, or them, and 
also his name and rank, or employment. 

That every military officer shall deliver or transmit one of the cer- 
titicates so obtained to the commander in chief, or the commander of 
a department, or to such person as by general orders shall be appointed 
to receive the same; and the said commanding officers shall cause the 
certiticates so received to be sent to the secretary of C'ongress, and 
shall keep an exact list of the names of all officers whose certiticates 
shall be received and forwarded, together with their several ^'anks and 
the times of their being qualitied. 

* ****** 

That each deponent or affirmant shall retain and keep the other cer- 
tificate by him obtained as a voucher of his having complied with what 
is hereby enjoined him: 

Eexolrcd^ That every officer, civil or military, now in office, shall 
take and sul)scribe the qualification above directed, within twenty days 
after notice hereof; and every person hereafter appointed to any office 
by or under the authority of the Congress of the United States of 
America shall take and subscribe the same previous to his acting in 
such office; and ever^^ officer who shall continue or presume to exer- 
cise any commission, civil or military, under the authority of the 
Congress of the United States of America, without taking the qualifi- 
cation in time and manner above directed shall l)e cashiered, and forfeit 
two months' pay to the use of the United States of America, and be 
rendered incapable of serving in the Army of the said States, and of 
executing thereafter any office under Congress. 

Fchrnwii 9, 1778. — Governors of States authorized to suspend, for cause, any officer 
of the staff not immediately appointed by Congress, and to make temporary ajipoint- 
ments in the place of the officers suspended, reporting their action to Congress. 

3fay 15, 1778. 

Resolved, Unanimousl3% that all militar}- officers commissioned by 
Congress who now are, or hereafter may be, in the service of the United 
States, and- shall continue therein during the war, and not hold any 
office of profit luider these States, or any of them, shall, after the con- 
clusion of the war, be entitled to receive annually, for the term of 
seven years, if they live so long, one-half of the present pay of such 
officers: . . . And provided. That this resolution shall not extend 
to any officer in the service of the United States, unless he shall have 
taken an oath of allegiance to, and shall actually reside within some 
one of the United States. 



14 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENEKAL STAFF OF U. S. AKMY. 

May ^7, 1778. 

Resolved., That when any of the staff officers appointed from the 
line are promoted above the ranks in the line out of which they are 
respectively appointable their staff appointments shall thereupon be 
vacated. 

May 29, 1778. 

Resolved.! That no persons hereafter appointed upon the civil staff' 
of the Army shall hold or be entitled to any rank in the Arm}^ by 
virtue of such staff' appointment. 

June 2, 1778. 

Resolved., That subsistence money be allowed to officers and others 
on the staff' in lieu of extra rations, and that henceforward none of 
them be allowed to draw more than one ration a day. 

June 4, 1778. — Congress aiipointed Messrs. Carroll, Matthews and AVentworth a 
committee to extract from the journals, for publication, all the resolutions relative to 
the government of the Army. 

Jmie 9, 1778. 

Resolved, That the value of the rations due since the 1st of January 
last till the 1st inst. be estimated at one-third of a dollar . . . 

June 33, 1778. — Congress authorized General Gates to dismiss all the supernumer- 
ary staff officers in the district under his command. 

Awjust 12, 1778. — Congress allowed $500 to every officer whose duty required him 
to be mounted and whose horse was killed in battle. 

Novemher U, 1778. 

Resolved, That all officers and persons employed on the staff shall 
receive for subsistence money one-third of a dollar for each extra 
ration heretofore allowed them. 

December 19, 1778. — Messrs. Duane, Laurens, Ellsworth, Gerry and M. Smith, con- 
stituted a committee to confer with the Commander in Chief and the principal offi- 
cers of the staff on ways and means of retrenching the expenses of the Army. 

April 14, 1779.— The subsistence money allowed having become insufficient by 
reason of the rapid increase of the necessaries of life. Congress recommended that 
the several legislatures supply the officers of their respective States, at the expense 
of the United States, with West India rum at § of a dollar a gallon, muscovado sugar 
at h a dollar per pound, coffee at o a dollar a pound, tea at 1| dollars per pound, and 
chocolate at 5 a dollar per pound. 

May 11, 1779. 

Resolved, . . . That all staff officers who serve with the Arnn^ 
shall be allowed clothing on the same conditions as officers in the line, 
provided the}^ engage for a year or longer. 

June 12, 1779. 

The Board of War having reported a form of a commission for offi- 
cers of the staff', the same was read and agreed to, as follows: 

•■'The United States of America in Congress assembled, to 

, greeting: 

" We, reposing especial trust and confidence in your patriotism, 
prudence, and fidelity, do by these presents constitute and appoint you 



GENEEAL PKO VISIONS. 15 

to be . You are therefore f aithf ull}'^ and diligently to discharge 

the duty of by doing and performing all manner of things 

thereunto belonging. And you are to observe and follow such orders 
and directions, from time to time, as you shall receive from this or a 
future Congress of the United States, or committee of Congress for 
that purpose appointed, a committee of the States, or Commander in 
Chief for the time being of the Army of the United States, or any 
other your superior officer, according to the rules and discipline of 
war, in pursuance of the trust reposed in you. This commission to 
continue in force until revoked by this or a future Congress, the com- 
mittee of Congress before mentioned, or a committee of the States. 

"Witness , President of the Congress of the United 

States of America, at -, the day of , and in the 

year of our independence. 

"Entered in the War Office, and examined by the Board. 

"Secretary of the Board of War." 

Augi(,st 11, 1779. 

Resolved, That the half pay provided by the resolution of the 1.5th 
of May, 1778, be extended to continue for life; and that the holding 
of a civil office under the United States, or any of theui, shall be no 
bar to prevent any officer from receiving the same. 

Augud 18, 1779. 

Resolved* That, until the further order of Congress, the said officers 
of the Army be entitled to receive monthly for their subsistence 
mono}" the sums following, to wit: Each colonel . . . 500 dollars; 
lieutenant-colonel 400 dollars; every major . . . 300 dollars; 
every captain 200 dollars; every lieutenant, ensign . . . 100 
dollars. 

Resolved, That, until the further order of Congress, the sum of 10 
dollars be paid to every noncommissioned officer and soldier monthly 
for their subsistence, in lieu of those articles of food originally 
intended for them and not furnished. 

August IS, 1779.— The Journals state that Congress proceeded to the consideration 
of a report for a further allowance to the officers of the Army (committee consisted 
of Messrs. Duane, Smith, Morris, Laurens and Drayton), and 

"Resolved, That until the further order of Congress the said officers be entitled to 
receive monthly for their subsistence money the sums following, to wit: Each colonel 
and brigade chaplain, 5(X) dollars; every lieutenant-colonel, 400 dollars; every major 
and regimental surgeon, 800 dollars; every captain, 200 dollars; every lieutenant, 
ensign, and surgeon's mate, 100 dollars. 

"Resolved, That until the further order of Congress the sum of 10 dollars be paid 
to every noncommissioned officer and soldier monthly for their subsistence in lieu 
of those articles of food originally intended for them and not furnished." 

October 2, 1779. — "The following are the uniforms that have been determined for 
the troops of these States, respectively, as soon as the state of the public supplies will 
permit their being furnished accordingly, and in the meantime it is recommended to 
the officers to endeavor to accommodate their uniforms to this standard; that when 
the men come to be supplied there may be a proper uniformity: 

New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut: Blue, faced with 
white; buttons antl lining, white. 

New York, New Jersey: Blue, faced with buff; white lining and buttons. 

Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia: Blue, faced with red; buttons and 
lining, white. 

North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia: Blue, faced with blue; buttonholes, 
edged with narrow white lace or tape; buttons and lining, white. 



16 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Artillery and artillery artificers: Blue, faced with scarlet; scarlet lining; yellow 
buttf)ns; yellow-bound hats; coats edged with narrow lace or tape, and l)uttonholea 
bound with the same. 

Light dragoons: The whole, blue faced with white; white buttons and linings. 
(Orders, General Headquarters, Moure's House.) 

Nowmher 25, 1779. 

Resolved.^ That the following articles be delivered as a suit of clothes 
for the current and every succeeding- 3^ear of their service to the 
officers of the . . . staff entitled by any resolution of Congress 
to receive the same, viz: 

One hat, one watch coat, one body coat, four vests (one for winter 
and three for summer), four pair of breeches (two for winter and two 
for summer), four shirts, four stocks, six pairs of stockings (three 
pairs thereof worsted and three of thread), four pairs of shoes. 

For which articles of clothing the officers shall pay, on receipt 
thereof, one-half more than the prices at which the same were cur- 
rently sold before the commencement of hostilities, in April, 
1775 ... 

* * * * * * * 

That all clothing issued to noncommissioned officers and soldiers, 
enlisted artificers . . . ])eyond that allowed to them as a bounty, 
shall also ))e valued and paid for at the rate liefore mentioned; but no 
noncommissioned officer, soldier, . . artificer shall be entitled 

to purchase in any one year, out of the public store, any ouuer addi- 
tional articles than those of hats, hose, shirts, and shoes, and not more 
of these than are absolutely necessary, and not exceeding the number 
of the like articles allowed as their bounty clothing. 

That . . . all clothing to staff' officers [shall be issued] on the 
certificate of their principal with the Army or in the district within 
which they shall serve . 

That no staff' officer, artificer, or wagoner, not being engaged for at 
least one year, shall receive clothing; and if any such officer, artificer, 
or wagoner, l>eing engaged for one year or more, after receipt of such 
clothing, shall quit the service before the expiration of the term for 

-lich he or they are or shall be engaged, he or they shall forfeit and 
pay the full value of such clothing, and be subject to all other penal- 
ties and inconveniences attending his or their breach of contract or 
desertion. 

January 8, 1780. 

Resolved, That every officer of the Army of the United States 
whose duty requires his being on horseback in time of action be 
allowed a sum not exceeding- the average price given at the time, in 
the department or place where the accident shall happen, for horses 
purchased for pri\'ate dragoons, as a compensation for any horse he 
shall have killed in battle; this resolution to have retrospect as far as 
the 1st of January, 1779; and the Quartermaster-General, or his dep- 
uty, is hereb}" authorized to pav the value of such horses, not exceeding 
the said price, to the respective sufferers, on the facts being properly 
authenticated. 



GENERAL PROVISIONS. 17 

January 20, 1780. — A hoard of commissioners (one of whom to be a member of Con- 
gress) was aj)pointed to inquire into the expenses of the staff departments, to dis- 
charge supernumerary and delinquent officers and men, to stop all issues of rations 
and otlier supplies n<»t indispensaltly nerest-ary for the service; any two of them, in 
conjunction with General Washington, to adopt any proper measures for promoting 
economy in those departments. January 21 Congress elected Mr. Schuyler and 
Colonel Pickering, and January 22 General Thomas Mifflin. 

March 11, 1780. 

Resolved., . . . That every officer who by such regulation [of 
the Commander in Chief] shall be entitled to a servant, and who shall 
enlist, to serve during the war, a youth not under fifteen nor exceed- 
ing eighteen years of age, and who from appearances is likely to prove 
an able-bodied soldier, such officer shall retain the youth so enlisted 
as his servant, until, in the opinion of the Inspector-General, or one of 
the subinspectors, he shall be fit to bear arms, and the youth shall 
receive the bounty mone3% clothing, pay, and rations of a soldier; and 
the officer to whom such servant shall be attached is not to be allowed 
a man out of the ranks, on any pretense whatsoever, while such serv- 
ant remains with him . . . The like allowance of clothing, pay, 
and rations shall be given to any officer entitled as aforesaid to a serv- 
ant who shall bring into the field with him a servant of his own . . . 

April 10, 1780. 

Resolved., That when Congress shall be furnished with proper docu- 
ments to liquidate the depreciation of the continental bills of credit, 
they will, as soon thereafter as the state of the public finances will 
admit, make good to the lines of the Army, and the independent corps 
thereof, the deficiency of their original pay, occasioned hy such depre- 
ciation; and that the money and articles heretofore paid or furnished, 
or hereafter to be paid or furnished by Congress or the States, or any 
of them, as for pa}^ subsistence, or to compensate for deficiency, shall 
be deemed as advanced on accoimt, until stich liquidation as aforesaid 
shall be adjusted, it being the determination of Congress that all the 
troops serving in the Continental Army shall be placed on an eq.vlil 
footing: Provided, That no person shall have any benefit of this reso- 
lution except such as were engaged during the Avar, or for three 
years, and are now in service, or shall hereafter engage during the 
war for three years and are now in service, or shall hereafter engage 
during the war. 

April 13, 1780. — Messrs. Schuyler, Matthews and Peabody constituted a committee 
to confer with General Washington and the chiefs of departments, with a view to 
remedying defects and perfecting the arrangement of the several staff departments. 

April 14, 1780. — Congress tendered their thanks to General JVIiftlin and Colonel 
Pickering for their attention to the business conunitted to them, manifested in their 
plan for the arrangements of the staff departments, which has been referred to a 
committee (Messrs. Schuyler, Matthews and Peabody), who are to consult the Com- 
mander in Chief and the heads of the staff departments. 

J'dne 14, 1780. — General (xates was authorized to appoint all staff otiicers necessary 
for the 0-*ganization of the Southern Army. 

S. Doc. 229 2 



18 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U, S. ARMY. 

June 18, 1780. — " As it is at all times of great importance, both for the sake of 
aijpearance and for the regnlarity of service, that the different military ranks should 
be distinguished from each other and more especially at present, the Commander 
in Chief has thought proper to establish the following distinctions and strongly 
recommends it to all the officers to endeavor to conform to them as speedily as 
possible: The major-generals to wear a blue coat with buff facings and linings, 
yellow buttons, white or buff under cloth, two epaulettes, with two stars upon each, 
and a black and white feather in the hat. The brigadier-generals, the same uniform 
as the major-generals with the difference of one star instead of two and a white 
feather. The colonels, lieutenant-colonels, and majors, the uniforms of their regi- 
ments and two epaulettes. The captains, the uniforms of their regiments and an 
epaulette on the right shoulder. The subalterns, the uniform of their regiment and 
an epaulette on the left shoulder. The aides-de-camp, the uniforms of their ranks 
and corps, or if they belong to no corps, of their general officers. Those of the major- 
generals and brigadier-generals to have a green feather in the hat; those of the 
Commander in Chief, a white and green. The inspectors — as well sub as brigade — 
the uniforms of their ranks and corps with a blue feather in the hat. The Corps of 
Engineers and that of sappers and miners, a blue coat with buff facings, red lining, 
buff under cloth, and the epaulettes of their respective ranks. Such of the staff as 
have military rank to wear the uniforms of their ranks and of the corps to which 
they belong in the line; such as have no military rank to wear plain coats with 
cockade and sword. All officers, as well warrant as commissioned, to wear a cockade 
and side arms, either a sword or genteel bayonet. The general reconnnends it to the 
officers as far as practicable to provide themselves with the uniforms prescribed for 

their respective corps by the regulations of , published in general orders, the 

2d of October last." {Orders, General Headquarters, Short Hills.) 

Jvhi 14, 1780. — "It Avas omitted in the general order of the 18th of June last to 
mention that the Adjutant-General and his assistants are to wear a red and green 
feather in their hats and the uniforms of their corps." ( Orders, General Headquarters, 
Pracaness. ) 

July 15. 1780. 

Resolved^ . . . That an}^ of the said officers entitled to forage, 
who shall keep their horses at their own expense, when in camp, or 
when absent from the Army on public service, shall ])e allowed as 
much daily for the forage so found as shall be certified by the deputy 
quartermaster of the State in which the Army may be, to be the net 
current cost of a ration of forage, every officer claiming such payment 
producing a certificate from the forage master, from whom he usually 
draws, that he had not drawn forage from him during the time charged 
for, and certifying upon honor that he hath drawn no public forage 
whatever during the said time, on which a certificate shall pass from 
the conmiissary of forage, or deputy, to the Quartermaster-General's 
auditor, for settlement of the same, not exceeding the current net cost 
of the ration as settled by the quartermaster of the State: Provided, 
That no officer on furlough shall be entitled to draw forage or pay for 
the same for any time he is absent beyond the time allowed him by 
his furlough. 

.Tuly 19, 1780. — "The feathers directed to be worn by major-generals are to have 
the white below, the black above. It will be best to have one feather, the upper 
part black. It is recommended to the officers to have black and white cockades — 
a black ground with a white relief — emblematic of the expected miion of the two 
armies. ' ' ( Orders, General Headquarters, Pracaness. ) 

August 12, 1780. 

Remlved, . . . That the officers (of tlie Army) shall hereafter 
be allowed five dollars per month in the said new bills [emission of 
March 18, 1780] for each retained ration. 



GENERAL PROVISIONS. 19 

Thrt the provisions for granting" lands b}^ the resohition of Septem- 
ber IC), 1776, be, and is hereby, extended to the general officers, in the 
following proportion: To a major-general, 1,100 acres; a brigadier- 
general. 850 acres. 

August U. 1780. 

Resolved, . . . That if it shall appear that the subsistence 
money allowed to officers in lieu of the rations withheld is not equal to 
the cost of the rations, the deticiency shall hereafter be made up to them. 

JResoJved., . . . That the resolution of the loth da}^ of May, 
1778, granting half pay for seven years to the officers of the Army 
who should continue in service to the end of the war, be extended to 
the widows of those officers who have died or shall hereafter die in the 
service; to commence from the time of such officers' death, and con- 
tinue for the term of seven years; or if there be no widow, or in case 
of her death or intermarriage, the said half pay be given to the orphan 
children of the officer dying as aforesaid, if he shall have left any, and 
that it be recommended to the legislatures of the respective States to 
which such officers belong, to make provision for paying the same, on 
account of the United States. 

That the restricting clause in the resolution of May 15, 1778, grant- 
ing half pay to the officers for seven years, expressed in these woi'ds, 
viz, ''And not hold any office of profit under these States, or any of 
them," be, and is hereby, repealed. 

August 29, 1780. — "As l)lack and red feathers have been furnished the division of 
liglit infantry to distingu'sh it from the rest of the Army, they are not to be worn by 
any officers or soldiers but those who belong to it." {Orders, Uencral Headquarters, 
Tean Neck.) 

Novemher W, 1780. 

Resolved^ That the act of Congress of the 8th of Januarj^ last, pro- 
vidnig for the payment of officers' horses killed in action, be extendetl 
to such officers entitled to keep them who shall have their horses 
Avounded and disabled in action, provided the horses so wounded and 
disabled be delivered to the department of the Quartermaster-General. 

January 26, 1781. 

Remlved., That the allowance of five dollars per month to the officers 
of the Army for each retained ration, granted by an act of the 12th of 
August last, shall commence on the 1st day of August, 1780. 

June 13, 1781. — Congress declared that until it shall be able to liquidate the depre- 
ciation of the continental bill of credit, on the principles established in the resolution 
of April 10, 1780, that the money paid by the Stp^tes to compensate officers of the 
Army shall be deemed as advanced on account until adjustment by Congress of such 
liquidation. 

September 30, 1781. — "All officers and others are strictly forbid, for obvious reasons, 
to wear red coats." {Orders, General Headquarters, Secretary's Quarter.) 

October 30, 1781. — "In pursuance of the determination of a board of general officers 
setting forth the means by which the officers of the Army may receive a general benefit 
from that article of the Cai)ituIation which entitles them to a right of preemption 
of the goods in the possession of the traders in York and Gloucester, at the time of 
the surrender of these posts, the Commander in Chief is pleased to direct that every 
officer who came here with this Army (coming under the following description) 
receive on account of his pay to the amount of twenty pounds (dollars, at six shil- 
lings) each, viz: * * * tiie officers of the hospital, " * * * the Quartermaster- 
General, the Commissary-General, and their deputies; but not to include the deputies 



20 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF IT. S. ARMY. 

of deputies. * * * Heads of departments not connected with brigades are them- 
selves to purchase for the persons entitled or give written authority to one person in 
their respective departments to do it for them. The brigades and corps, having 
balloted for priority of purchase, are to be served in the following order, viz: * * * 
7, sappers and miners; 8, 9, 10, the Quarter [master] 's. Commissary's, and Hospital 
departments. * * * The persons appointed to purchase for each btigade and 
, separate department will have a certificate of their appointment from Maior-( reneral 
St. Clair. * * * The regimental paymaster to take receipts from each officer, as 
so much pay, and transmit an account of the aggregate sum to the Paymaster-General, 
to be by hini charged to the regiment. Where officers are unconnected with bri- 
gades, their amounts to be transmitted to the Paymaster-General by the general 
officers to whom they are attached and the heads of departments to whicli they 
belong. Until the purchases above authorized are completed and the same announced 
by a general order, no person whatever is permitted to purchase on private account." 
( Orders, General Headquarters, Neu) York. ) 

January 19, 1782. — " Commanding officers of * * * corps are not in future to 
furnish servants or waggoners from their corps on any pretext whate^'er, without an 
express order from the Commander in Chief or officer commanding the Army. Officers 
actually belonging to * * * corps and serving with them are to be allowed 
servants from their respective corps, in the following proportions, viz: * * * No 

* * * doctor to take a convalescent from the hospital for a servant on pain of 
being tried by a court-martial. The general and military staff and officers not 
belonging to corps are to be allowed servants in the following proportions, and when 
they are not otherwise provided may take them from the Army, viz: Major-general, 
four servants; brigadier-general, four servants; colonel, two servants (without arms) ; 
lieutenant-colonel, one servant (without arms); major, one servant (without arms); 
captain, one servant (without arms); aide-de-camp, one servant (without arms); 
major of brigade, one servant (without arms). {Orders, General Headquarters, Phila- 
delphia. ) 

A2?ril 8, 1782. 

Resolved., That . . . the Secretary at War . . . issue his 
warrants ... to the head of each department for the pay and 
rations due to each department; that the accounts for the pay and 
rations of . . . each department in the Army from January 1, 
1782, shall bo made out at the end of every month, and be transmitted 
to the War Office for examination and warrants. 

That the manner of making the payments, of keeping the accounts, 

• . . be regulated b}^ the Secretary at War. 

April 10, 1782. 

Resolved., . . . That estimates and returns from the different 
departments be lodged at the War Office, to be examined and approved 
of by the Secretary at War. 

April n, 1782. 

Resolved., That from and after the first day of Maj^ next all resolves 
of Congress heretofore passed relative to rations, subsistence, or 
allowances to officers, over and above their pay and what the}^ are enti- 
tled to from the Quartermaster's Department, . . . be, and they are 
hereby, repealed; that from and after the first day of May next each 
officer shall be entitled to draw daily the number of rations, . . . 
affixed to their several ranks, viz: 

A colonel 2 rations per day; 12 60/90 dollars per month. 

A lieutenant-colonel . lo do. ; 11 do. 

Major l| do. ; 8 do. 

Captain 1 do. ; 6 30/90 do. 

Subaltern 1 do. ; 8 15/90 do. 

* * * 



GENERAL PROVISIONS. 21 

All officers in the line of the Army employed in any of the staff 
departments shall be entitled, while acting therein, to draw the same 
number of rations and like subsistence to which they are entitled b}^ 
their ranks in the Army; and when any persons, not in the line of the 
Army, are employed in any of the staff departments, the}" shall be 
entitled to draw the same number of rations and subsistence as officers 
of the line acting in similar stations in the staff' with them are entitled 
to draw. 

No compensation shall hereafter be made to those officers who may 
neglect to draw rations to which they are entitled. 

Aiigust 7, 1782. — "Honorary badges of distinction are to be conferred on the veteran 
noncommissioned officers and soldiers of the Army, who have served more than 
three years with bravery, fidelity, and good conduct; for this purpose a narrow piece 
of white cloth of an angular form is to be fixed to the left arm on tlin uniform coats. 
Noncounnissioned officers and soldiers, who have served with equal reputation more 
than six years, are to be distinguished by two pieces of cloth set on parallel to each 
other in a similar form." 

"The general, ever desirous to cherish virtuous ambition in his soldiers, as well 
as to foster and encourage every species of military merit, directs that whenever any 
singularly meritorious action is performed, the author of it shall be permitted to 
wear on liis facings over the left breast, the figure of a heart in purple cloth or silk, 
edged with narrow lace or binding." {Ordem, General Ileddquarters, Neivburgh.) 

August 11, 1782. — "The badges which noncommissioned officers and soldiers are 
permitted to wear on the left arm, as a mark of long and faithful service, are to be of 
the same color, with the facings of the corps they belong to, and not white in every 
instance as directed in the orders of the 7th instant." ( Orders, General Ileudquarters, 
Newburgh. ) 

October 23, 1782. 

Resolved, . . . That any of the officers entitled to forage, who 
shall keep their horses at their own expense, shall t)e paid therefor })y 
the Quartermaster-General at the average price given by him for the 
forage of the Army. 

Decemher 3, 1782. 

Resolved, That after the last day of December inst. , in lieu of the 
rations hitherto allowed to officers of the Army, including those for 
servants, they shall be allowed subsistence mone}" at the rate of four 
dollars per month for each ration; provided tht^t where circumstances 
in any case shall not permit the payment of such subsistence money, 
they shall draw their rations as heretofore. 

December 6, 1782. — "The honorable Secretary at War having been pleased to direct 
that the uniform of the American cavalry and infantry shall in future be blue ground 
with red facings and white linings and buttons, the (General gives this early notice 
that provision may be made accordingly before the Army shall receive their clothing 
for the present year. The Corps of Artillery is to retain the present uniform, and the 
sappers and miners will have the same." {Orders, General Headquarters, Newburgh.) 

Becemhei' 13, 1782. 

Resolved, That every officer whose duty requires his being on horse- 
back who shall have his horse killed, or wounded, or disabled b}^ the 
enemy, or whose horse shall fall into the enemy's hands without his 
own manifest fault or misconduct, shall be entitled to receive from the 
Quartermaster-Cxeneral or his deputy the just value of such horse, to 
be appraised on oath, or on honor of the appraisers, if commissioned 
officers, provided the same docs not exceed 120 dollars; provided also, 



22 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

that if the wounded or disabled horse be l)rought off, he shall be deliv- 
ered to some officer in the Quartermaster's Department, whose certiti- 
cate shall be necessary to entitle the owner to compensation; provided 
also, that liefore any "compensation shall be made for horses lost in the 
manner before mentioned, the necessary facts shall be proved to the 
satisfaction of the Quartermaster-General or his deputy. . . . This 
resolution to have retrospect to the first of Januar}^, 1779; this resolu- 
tion not to extend to officers who have already received compensation 
for horses lost since that day. 

December 15, 1782. — " By the order of the 6th instant respecting uniformity of 
clothing for the Army, the General did not propose that the coats should all be made 
in the same mode; on the contrary, he wishes commanding officers of the different 
lines and corps would agree among themselves on such distinctions as may be deemed 
proper in the fashion of the lapels, cuffs, buttons, &c." ( Orders, General Headquar- 
ters, Netuburgh.) 

January 3, 1783. — "Duplicate accounts of the subsistence of departments and gen- 
eral officer's family, to be signed by the heads of the departments and general officer." 
{Orders, General Headquarters, Newburgli.) 

February M, 1783. 

Whereas sundry officers in the Army of the United States have been 
taken from the line to act in the departments of the general staff", and 
are entitled to additional pay in consequence thereof: 

He-solved, That it be, and hereby is, recommended to the several 
States, to whom such officers respectively belong, to adjust and dis- 
charge, on account of the United States, the deficiencies on the addi- 
tional pay to which they are entitled by the resolutions of Congress, in 
the same manner and to the same time they settle their accounts as 
officers of the line. 

February 24, 1783. — "The nonarrival of the clothing expected from Europe renders 
the greatest economy in that article doubly necessary. The Commander in Chief 
therefore recommends that the business of turning and repairing the coats of last year 
should now be considered as a primary object, in doing which a certain model as to 
the fashion and length (for the coats ought to be made something shorter than at 
present) will be established by the commanding officer of the corps, from which 
there must be no deviation. . ' . It is expected scarlet cloth for cuffs, capes, and per- 
haps half facings will be furnished, as the Secretary at War has been pleased to give 
assurances that he will cause a quantity of that cloth, together with a sufficiency of 
thread, to be immediately forwarded from Philadelphia, if possible. ' ' ( Orders, General 
Headquarters, Newburgh.) 

March 3, i?^?.— "Notwithstanding the proposed alteration in the uniform of the 
infantry and cavalry, it appears necessary, from the inevitable circumstances, that all 
the light infantry companies should be clothed in blue coats, faced with white, until 
further orders. " {Orders, General Headquarters, Newburgh.) 

March 22, 1783. 

Resolved., That such officers as are now in service, and shall continue 
therein to the end of the war, shall be entitled to receive the amoimt 
of five 3'ears' f ull pay in money, or securities on interest at six per 
cent per annum, as Congress shall find most convenient, instead of the 
half pay promised for life by the resolution of the 21st day of Octo- 
ber, 1780. ... 

April 14, i7<S'.?.— " The regiments which have not turned and repaired their coats are 
to draw lots for the scarlet cloth which arrived yesterday. Such corps as can not now 
be supplied must retain their old uniform. Everything that can be done i)revious to 
the first of May to make the troops appear respectable ought to be attempted. An 
extra allowance of one ration per coat will be made for every regimental coat that 
has or shall be turned." {Orders, General Headquarters, Neuburgh.) 



GENERAL PROVISIONS. 23 

Septemher 17, 178S. 

Whereas the legislatures, as well as the citizens of several States, are 
opposed to the allowance of half pay to officers of the Army, and also 
to the connnutation made by an act of Cong-ress of 22d March last; 
and it is the request of the delegates of such States that the legislatures 
thereof may have an opportunity of effecting a compromise with the 
officers of their respective lines, and of enabling them to retain the 
affection and esteem of their fellow-citizens: 

Rexolved, That the Secretary at War be directed to transmit to the 
legislatures of the States of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Provi- 
dence Plantations, and of such other States as may apply for the same, 
a list of the officers belonging to such States, respectively, to whom 
half pay or the comnmtation had been promised by Congress, . . ; 
in order that the said legislatures, if they shall deem it expedient, may 
reward the services of the said officers in a way that shall be mutually 
agreeable to them: . . . Provided, That such officers as may not 
accept the proposals of their respective States for rewarding their 
services aforesaid shall l)e, nevertheless, entitled to the commutation 
and every other emolument granted them by act of Congress. 

Septenibcr i3b\ 1783. 

Resolved, That the Commander in Chief l)e authorized and directed 
to grant furloughs to such of the general, medical, and staff' officers 
and the officers of the engineers whose services are not, in his opinion, 
necessary for the troops remaining in actual service. 

8e2jte»thc)' 30, 1783. 

Resolved, That the Secretary of War issue to all officers in the Army 
under the rank of major-general who hold the same rank now that they 
held in the year 1777 a brevet commission one grade higher than their 
present rank, having resp<H't to their seniority. . . 

STATUTES AT LARGE. 

Act ofJuve 1, 1789 {1 Stats., 23). 

AN ACT to rejj'ulate the time and niann(?r of admiuistering certain oaths. 

That the oath or affirmation required by the sixth article of the 
Constitution of the United States shall be administered in the form 
following, to wit: " I, A B, do soleml}^ swear (or affirm, as the case may 
be) that I will support the Constitution of the United States." . 

-X- % * 

Sec. 4. That all officers appointed, or hereafter to be appointed 
under the authority of the United States, shall, before they act in 
their respective offices, take the same oath or affirmation, which shall 
be administered by the person or persons who shall be authorized by 
law to administer to such officers their respective oaths of office; and 
such officers shall incur the same penalties in case of failure as shall 
be imposed by law in case of failure in taking their respective oaths 
of office. 



24 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENEKAL STAFF OF U. S, ARMY. 

Act of June 7, 1794 (^ Stats., 390). 

AN ACT in addition to the "Act for making further and more effectual provision 
for the i^rotection of the frontiers of the United States." 

Sec. 1. That if any commissioned officer . . . shall, while in 
the service of the United States, die b}^ reason of wounds received in 
actual service of the United States, and shall leave a widow, or if no 
widow, shall leave a child or children under age, such widow, or if no 
widow, such child or children, shall be entitled to and receive the half 
of the monthly pay to which the deceased was entitled at the time of 
his death, for and during the term of five years; and in case of the 
death or intermarriage of such widow, before the expiration of the 
said term of five years, the half pay for the remainder of the term, 
shall go to the child or children of such deceased officer, while under 
the age of sixteen years, and, in like manner, the allowance to the 
child or children of such deceased, where there is no widow, shall be 
paid no longer than while there is a child or children under the age 
aforesaid: Provided., That no greater sum shall be allowed in any case, 
to the widow or to the child or children of any officer, than the half 
pay of a lieutenant-colonel. 

•X- * * 

Aet of March 3, 1795 {1 mrt,^., JfSO). 

AN ACT for continuing and regulating the military establis^hment of the United 
States, and for repealing sundry acts heretofore passed on that subject. 

-X- * * 

Sec. 13. That if any officer . , . shall be wounded or disabled 
while in the line of his duty in public service he shall be placed on 
theJistof the invalids of the United States, at such rate of pay and 
under such regulations as shall be directed by the President of the 
United States for the tune being: Provided alvyn/s, That the rate of 
compensation to be allowed for such wounds or disabilities to a com- 
missioned officer shall never exceed for the highest disability half the 
monthly pay of such officer at the time of his being so disabled or 
wounded: . . . And provided also, That all inferior disabilities 
shall entitle the person so disabled to receive an allowance propor- 
tionate to the highest disability. 



Act of May 12, 179G {1 St(ds., I,OS). 

AN ACT allowing compensation for horses killed in battle ])elonging to officers of 
the Army of the United States. 

Sec. 1. That every officer in the Arni}^ of the United States whose 
duty requires him to ))e on horseback in time of action, and whose 
horse shall be killed in l)attle, be allowed a sum not exceeding two hun- 
dred dollars as a compensation for each horse killed. 

Sec. 2. That the provision contained in this act shall have retrospec- 
tive operation as far as the fourth day of March in the year one thou- 
sand seven hundred and eighty-nine. 



GENERAL PROVISIONS. 25 

Aet of March 3, 1799 (1 Stats., 74^). 

AN ACT authorizing the President of the United States to fill certain vacancies in 

the Army and Navy. 

That the President of the United States shall be, and he is hereb}', 
authorized to make appointments to fill any vacancies in the 
Army . . . which may have happened during- the present session 
of the Senate. 

Act of March 16, 1802 (^ Stats., 132). 

AN ACT fixing the military peace establishment of the United States. 
-X- * x- 

Sec. 4. That the monthly pay of the oflicers . . . be as follows, 
to wit: ... to each colonel, seventy-five dollars; to each lieu- 
tenant-colonel, sixty dollars; to each major, fift}^ dollars; 
to each captain, forty dollars; to each first lieutenant, thirty dollars; 
to each second lieutenant, twenty-five dollars; . 

Sec. 5. That the commissioned officers aforesaid shall be entitled to 
receive for their daily subsistence the following num])er of rations of 
provisions: A colonel, six rations; a lieutenant-colonel, five rations; 
a major, four rations; a captain, three rations; a lieutenant, two 
rations ... or money in lieu thereof at the option of the said offi- 
cers ... at the posts, respectively, when the rations shall become 
due; and if at such post supplies are not furnished by contract, then 
such allowance as shall 1)6 deemed equitable, having reference to for- 
mer contracts, and the position of the place in question: . . . ; 
and to every commissioned officer who shall keep one servant, not a 
soldier of the line, one additional ration. 

•A- * * 

Sec. 7. That the following officers shall, whenever forage is not 
furnished bv the public, receive at the rate of the following sums per 
month in lieu thereof: Each colonel, twelve dollars; each lieutenant- 
colonel, eleven dollars; each major, ten dollars; . . . each surgeon, 
ten dollars, and each surgeon's mate, six dollars. 

* * * 

Sec. 1-i. That if any officer . . . in the corps composing the 
peace establishment shall be disabled ])y wounds or otherwise while in 
the line of his duty in public service, he shall be placed on the list of 
invalids of the United States, at such rate of pay and under such regu- 
lations as ma}^ be directed by the President of the United States for 
the time being: Provided always, That the compensation to be allowed 
for such wounds or disabilities to a commissioned officer shall not 
exceed for the highest disability half the monthly pay of such officer 
at the time of his being disabled or wounded, and that no officer shall 
receive more than the half pay of a lieutenant-colonel: . . . A7id 
j>rovUhd also,T\\'Ai wW inferior disabilities shall entitle the person so 
disabled to receive an allowance proportionate to the highest disability. 

Sec. 15. That if any commissioned officer in the military peace 
establishment of the United States shall, while in the service of the 
United States, die by reason of any wound received in actual service 
of the United States, and leave a widow, or if no widow a chil d or 
children under sixteen years of age, such widow, or if no widow such 



26 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF tJ. S. ARMY. 

child or children, shall be entitled to and receive half the monthly pay- 
to which the deceased was entitled at the time of his death, for and dur- 
ing the term of five j^ears. But in case of the death or intermarriage 
of such widow Ijefor'e the expiration of the said term of live years, the 
half pay for the remainder of the time shall go to the child or children 
of suc-li deceased officer: Provided ahcays^ That such half pay shall 
cease on the decease of such child or children. 



Act of April m, 1808 (^ SUits., ]^81). 

AN ACT to raise for a limited time an addititional military force. 

* * * 

Sec. 0. That the subsistence of the officers of the Army, when not 
received in kind, shall be estimated at twenty cents per ration. 

* * * 

Act of January 11, 18P2 {2 Stats., 671). 

AN ACT to raise an additional military force. 

* * * 

Sec. 23. That the subsistence of the officers of the Army, >vhen not 
received in kind, shall be estimated at twenty cents per ration. 

* * * 

Act of July 6, 1812 {2 Stats., 781i). 

AN ACT making further provision for the Army of the United States, and for other 

purposes. 

* -X- * 

Sec. -i. That the President is hereby authorized to confer brevet 
rank on such officers of the Army as shall distinguish themselves bj" 
gallant actions or meritorious conduct, or who shall have served ten 
years in any one grade: Provided., that nothing herein contained shall 
be so construed as to entitle officers so brevetted to any additional pay 
or emoluments. 

Sec. 5. That the officers who shall not take waiters from the line of 
the Army shall receive the pay, clothing, and su})sistence allowed to 
a private soldier for as man}^ waiters as the\' may actually keep, not 
exceeding the number allowed by existing regulations. 
January 11, 1S12 {2-071). — Reenacts sections 14 and 15 of act of March 16, 1802. 

Act of March 3, 1813 {2 Stats., 819). 

AN ACT for the ,;ett r organization of the general staff of the Army of the United 

States. 

* * * 

Sec. 4. . . . And officers taken from the line and transferred to 
the staff shall receive only the pay and emoluments attached to the 
rank in the staff; but their'transfer shall be without prejudice to their 
rank and promotion in the line according to their said rank and 
seniority, which promotion shall take place according to usage, in the 
same mannei' as if they had not been thus transferred. 



GENERAL PROVISIONS. 27 

Sec. 5. That it shall be the dut}^ of the Secretary of the War 
Department, and he is hereby authorized, to prepare general regula- 
tions better delining and prescribing the respective duties and powers 
of the several officers in . . . the general . . . statf, which 
regulations, when approved by the President of the United States, 
shall be respected and obeyed until altered or revoked by the same 
authority; and the said general regulations, thus prepared and 
aj)proved, shall be laid before Congress at their next session. 



Act of July 22, 1813 {3 Stats., 3 If). 

AN ACT to regulate the allowance of forage to otficers in the Army of the United 

States. 

That all officers in the military service of the United States who 
are by law entitled to forage shall receive in lieu thereof when not 
drawn in kind an equivalent in mone}^, at the rate of eight dollars per 
month for each horse to which they may be entitled: Provided, 
That no allowance shall be made to any officer for more horses than 
he shall actualh' employ in the public service. 

Act of March 30, 18 U {3 Stats., 113). 

AN ACT for the better organizing, paying, and supplying the Army of the United 

States. 



Sec. 9. That from and after the first day of June next the officers of 
the Army shall be entitled to waiters agreeable to grade, as follows: 
Ever}' commissioned officer who holds a stall' appointment 
which gives the rank of captain, or any higher grade, one. 

Sec. 10. That no officer shall be permitted to employ as a servant 
any soldier from the line of the Army, and that the servants of officers, 
not exceeding the number allowed by the preceding section, shall be 
mustered with the same corps of the Army, and that on the muster 
rolls formed in consequence thereof payments shall be made in money 
to the officers emplo3'ing them in lieu of wages, subsistence, and cloth- 
ing, by the pa_ymasters of the several corps or districts where stu-h 
servants are mustered, at the rate allowed to privates of infantry, 
which shall Ije published to the Army annually by the Secretary for 
the Department of War. 



Act of March 3, 1816 (3 Stats., 
AN ACT fixing the military peace establishment of the United States. 



Sec. 6. That to each conunissioned officer who shall l)e deranged l)y 
virtue of this act there shall be allowed and paid, in 'addition to the 
pay and emoluments to which they will be entitled by law at the time 
of his discharge, three months' pay. 



28 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF V. S. ARMY. 

Act of April H, 18 10 (->' Stats, 297). 

AN ACT for organizing tiie general staff and making further provisions for the 
Armv of the United States. 



Sec. 9. That the several officers of the stafi' shall respectively receive 
the pay and eniolimients and retain all the privileges secured to the 
stall' of the Arm}'' by the act of March third, one thousand eight 
hundred and thirteen, and not incompatil)le with the provisions of this 
act; and that the regulations in force before the reduction of the Army 
be recognized, as far as the same shall be found applica1)lc to the serv- 
ice, subject, however, to such alterations as the Secretary of War may 
adopt, with the approbation of the President, 

Sec. 10. That . . . hereafter the staff of the Armj^ may l)e 
taken from the line of the Army, or from citizens. 

* * -X- 

Sec. 12. That when forage is not drawn in kind by officers of the 
Army entitled thereto, eight dollars per month for each horse, not 
exceeding the number authorized by existing regulations, shall be 
allowed in lieu thereof: Provided., That neither forage nor money 
shall be drawn by officers but for horses actually kept by them in 
service: Provided also., That none except company officers shall be 
allowed to take as servants or waiters soldiei's of the Army, find that 
all officers be allowed, for each private servant actually kept in serv- 
ice, not exceeding the number authorized by existing regulations, the 
pay, rations, and clothing of a private soldier, or money in lieu thereof, 
on a certificate setting forth the name and description of the servant 
or servants in the pa}" account. 

Act of Alarcli 3, 1817 {3 Stats., 394). 

AN ACT to amend an Act entitled "An Act making further provision for military 
services during the late war, and foi- otiier purposes." 

Sec. 2. That the provisions contained in an Act, entitled "An Act 
fixing the military peace establishment of the United States,*^ passed 
on the third of March, one thousand eight hundred and fifteen, grant- 
ing to the commissioned officers of the liegidar Army, who were 
derajiged )»y said Act, three months' pav in addition to the pay and 
emoluments to which they were entitled by law at the time of their 
discharge, shall equally extend to . . . warrant officers of the 
staff of the Regular Army, who were deranged by the before recited 
Act, except those provisionall}^ retained by the President of the United 

States. 

* * * 

Act of March 18, 1818 (f Stats., 410). 

AN ACT to i)r()vide for certain persons engaged in the land and naval service of the 
United States, in the Revolutionary War. 

That every conmiissioned officer, noncommissioncul otKcer . 
who served in the War of the Revolution until the end thereof, or for 
the term of nine months, or longer, at any period of the war, on the 



GENERAL PROVISIONS. 29 

Continental cstablifshment . . . who is yet a resident of the United 
States, and who is, or hereafter, 1)}' retlson of his reduced circumstances 
in life, shall be, in need of assistance from his country for support, 
and shall have substantiated his claim to a pension in the manner herein 
directed, shall receive a pension from the United States; if an otficer, 
of twenty dollars per month during life; if a noncommissioned officer 
. of eight dollars per month during- life; l^rovided., No person 
shall be entitled to the provisions of this Act, until he shall have relin- 
quished his claim to every pension heretofore allowed him by the laws 
of the United States. 



Act ofApr'tl II,., 1818 {3 Stats., J^26). 

AN ACT reKulatina; the staff of the Arinv. 



Sec. 4. That to each commissioned officer who shall be deranged by 
virtue of this Act, there shall be allowed and paid, in addition to the 
pay and emoluments to which the}^ will be entitled hj law, at the time 
of their discharge, three months' pay and emoluments. . . 



Act of AprU 16, 1818 (S Stats., 4.37). 

AN ACT rcguhitinir the pay and eniohxnients of Ijrevet officers. 

vv * vv- 

Skc. 2. Tliat no brevet commission shall hereafter be conferred but 
by and w ith the advice and consent of the Senate. 

Act of May 1, 1820 {3 Stats., 567). 

AN ACT in addition lo the several acts for the establishment and regulation of the 
Treasury-, War, and Navy Departments. 
-X- * -x- 

Skc. t). That no contract' shall hereafter be made by the Secretary 
. . . of the Department of A^'ar. . . . except under a law 
authorizing the same, or under an appropriation adequate to its ful- 
filment. . 



Act of July 5, 1838 {5 Stats., 266). 

AN ACT to increase the jjresent niiUtary estal)lishment of the United States, and 

for other purposes. 

•X- -x- * 

Sec. 15. That every commissioned officer of the . . . staff, 
exclusive of general officers, shall be entitled to receive one addi- 
tional ration per diem for every live years he may have served or shall 
serve in the Army of the United States. . . . 

* * * 

^Excepthig contracts for the subsistence and clothing of the Army. 



30 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Act ofJnly 7, 1SS8 {f> Stat><., 308). 

AN ACT supplementary to an act entitled "An act to increase the present military 
establishment of the United States, and for other purposes," approved July fifth, 
eighteen hundred and thirty-eight. 

That the act to which this is a supplement shall be, and the same 
herel\y is, explained, limited, and modified as follows: 

First. Nothing contained in the said act shall be so construed as to 
allow to an}^ officer additional rations for time past, commonl}^ called 

back rations. 

* * * 

.Act of March 3, 1839 {5 Stats., 339). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the civil and diplomatic expenses of the Gov- 
ernment for the year eighteen hundred and thirty-nine. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. That no officer in any branch of the public service, or any 
other persons whose salaries, or whose pay or emoluments is or are 
fixed by law and regulations, shall receive any extra allowance or 
compensation in any form whatever for the disbursement of public 
money, or the performance of any other service, unless the said extra 
allowance or compensation be authorized by law; nor shall any execu- 
tive officer, other than the heads of departments, apply more than 
thirty dollars, annually, out of the contingent fund under his control, 
to pay for newspapers, pamphlets, periodicals, or other books or prints 
not necessar}^ for the business of his office. 

Act of August 23, 18^2 {o Stats., 508). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the suj^port of the Army, and of the MilitaTy 
Academy, for the year one thousand eight hundred and forty-two. 

* -X- * 

Sec. 2. That no officer in any branch of the public service, or any 
other person whose salary, pay, or emoluments is or are fixed by law 
or regulations, shall receive any additional pa}^ extra allowance, or 
compensation, in any form Avhatever, for the disbursement of public 
money, or for any other service or duty whatsoever, unless the same 
shall be authorized by law, and the appropriation therefor explicitly 
set forth that it is for such additional pa}^, extra allowance, or com- 
pensation. 

* * * 

Act of June 18, 181^6 {9 Stats., 17). 

AN ACT supplemental to an act entitled "An act providing for the prosecution of 
the existing war between the United States and the Republic of Mexico," and for 
other purposes. 

-y.- * x- 

Sec. 7. . . . that appointments ... in the general staff, 
which confer Cijual rank in the Army, shall not ])e held by the same 
officer at the same time; and when any officer of the staff who may 
have been taken from the line shall, in virtue of seniority, have 



GENERAL PROVISIONS. 31 

obtained or be entitled to promotion to a grade in his regiment equal 
to the commission he may hold in the staff', the said officer shall vacate 
such staff conmiission, or he mav, at his option, vacate his commission 
in the line. 



Act of March 3, 181^7 {9 Stats., 188). 
AN ACT to establish certain post routes, and for other purposes. 



Sec. 4. That all letters, newspapers, and other packets, not exceed- 
ing in weight one ounce, directed to any officer ... of the 
Army of the United States in Mexico, or at any post or place on the 
frontier of the United States bordering on Mexico, shall be conveyed 
in the mail free of postage. 

Sec. 5. That the two preceding sections shall continue in force dur- 
ing the present war, and for three months after the same may be 
terminated, and no longer. 



Act of March 3, 1851 {9 Stats., 618). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending the 
thirtieth of June, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-two. 

. . . Provided, That all promotions in the stall' department or 
corps shall be made as in other corps of the Army. 



Act of August 31, 1852 {10 Stats., 76). 

AN ACT making appropriation for tlie civil and diplomatic expenses of the Govern- 
ment for the year ending the thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and fifty-three, 
and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 8. That it shall not be lawful for the officer ... in charge 
of any bureau ... in any of the departments of the Govern- 
ment to print, or cause to be printed, at the pu])lic expense, any report 
ho may make to the President of the United States, or to the head of 
any of the departments. 



Act of February 21, 1857 {11 Stats., 163). 

AN ACT to increase the pay of the officers of the Army. 

That from and after the commencement of the present fiscal year 
the pay of each commissioned officer of the Army, including military 
storekeepers, shall be increased twenty dollars per month, and that 
the commutation price of officers' subsistence shall be thirty cents per 
ration. 



32 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Act of AngwHt 3, 1861 {12 Stats., 387). 

AN ACT proviilintr for the better organization of the military establishment. 
* x- * 

Sec. 15. That any commissioned officer of the Army . . . who 
shall have served as such for forty consecutive years, may, upon his 
own application to the President of the United States, be placed on 
the list of retired officers, with the pay and emolument allowed by 
this act. 

Sec. 10. That if an}^ commissioned officer of the Army . . . 
shall have become incapable of performing- the duties of his office, he 
shall be placed upon the retired list and withdrawn from active service 
and command and from the line of promotion, with the following pay 
and emoluments, namel}^ the pay proper of the highest rank held by 
him at the time of his retirement, whether by staff . . . commis- 
sion, and four rations per day, and without any other pay, emoluments, 
or allowances. 

Sec. 17. That, in order to carry out the provisions of this act, the 
Secretary of War, . . . under the direction and approval of the 
President of the United States, shall, from time to time, as occasion 
ma}^ require, assemble a board of not more than nine, nor less than 
five commissioned officers, two-fifths of whom shall be of the medical 
staff; the board, except those taken from the medical stafi^, to be com- 
posed, as far as may l)e, of his seniors in rank, to determine the facts 
as to the nature and occasion of the disability of such officers as 
appear disaljled to perform such military service, such board being 
hereby invested with the powers of a court of inquiry and court-mar- 
tial, and their decision shall l)e subject to like revision as that of such 
courts by the President of the United States. 

Sec. 18. That the officers partially retired shall be entitled to wear 
the uniform of their respective grades, shall continue to be borne 
upon the Army Reg'ister, . . . and shall ))e subject to the rules 
and articles of war, and to trial ))y general court-martial for any 
breach of the said articles. 

-::- -A- * 

Sec, 20. That officers of the Army, when absent from their appro- 
priate duties for a period exceeding six months, either with or with- 
out leave, shall not receive the allowances authorized b}^ the existing- 
laws for servants, forage, transportatioii of baggage, fuel, and quar- 
ters, either in kind or in commutation. 

* X- -Jfr 

Sec. 25. That retired officers of the Army . . . may be 
assigned to such duties as the President may deem them capable of 
performing, and such as the exigencies of the public service may 
require. 

- Act of AmjHd o, 1861 {12 Stats., 316). 

AN ACT making api)r(>priatiMns for rutilieations, and for other purposes. 

* * -x- 

Sec. 2. That any commissioned officer of the Army, . . . who, 
having tendered his resignation, shall, prior to due notice of the 
acceptance of the sann* 1)\' the proper authority, and without leave, 



GENERAL PKOVISIONS. 33 

shall quit his post or proper duties with the intention to remain per- 
manently absent therefrom, shall be registered as a deserter and pun- 
ished as such. 



Act of July '£, 1862 {12 Stafs., 502). 

AN ACT to prescribe an oath of office, and for other purposes. 

That hereafter everv^ person . . . appointed to any office of 
honor or profit under the Government of the United States, . . . 
in the . . . military, . . . departments of the public service, 
excepting the President of the United States, shall, before entering 
upon the duties of such office, and before being entitled to any of the 
salary or other emoluments thereof, take and subscribe to the following 
oath or affirmation: ""I, A. B., do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I 
have never voluntarily borne arms against the United States since I 
have been a citizen thereof ; that I have voluntarily given no aid, coun- 
tenance, counsel, or encouragement to persons engaged in armed hos- 
tility thereto; that I have neither sought nor accepted nor attempted 
to exercise the functions of any office whatever under any authority or 
pretended authority in hostility to the United States; that I have not 
jaelded a voluntary support to any pretended government, authority, 
power, or constitution within the United States, hostile or inimical 
thereto. And I do further swear (or affirm) that, to the best of my 
knowledge and ability, I will support and defend the Constitution of 
the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will 
bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation 
freel}", without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that 
I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I 
am about to enter, so help me God;" which said oath, so taken and 
signed, shall be preserved among the tiles of the . . . Department 
to which the said office may appertain. And any person w^ho shall 
falsely take the said oath shall be guilty of perjury, and on conviction, 
in addition to the penalties now prescri])ed for that offense, shall Ik; 
deprived of his office and rendered incapable forever after of holding 
any office or place under the United States. 

Act of July 17, 1862 {12 Stats., 59J^). 

AN ACT to define the pay and einokmients of certain- officers of the Army, and for 

other purposes. 

That officers of the Army entitled to forage for horses shall not be 
allowed to commute it, but may draw forage in kind for each horse 
actually kept by them when and at the place where they are on duty, 
not exceeding the number authorized by law: Provided., hmoever., That 
when forage iu kind can not be furnished by the proper department, 
then, and in all such cases, officers entitled to forage may commute 
the same according to existing regulations. 

Skc. 2. That major-generals shall be entitled to draw forage in kind 
for live horses; brigadier-generals for four horses; colonels, lieu- 
tenant-colonels, and majors for two horses each; captains and lieu- 
tenants . . . having the cavalry allowance for two horses each. 

S. Doc. 229 3 



Sec. 3. That whenever an officer of the Army shall employ a .soldier 
for his servant, he shall, for each and every month during which said 
soldier shall be so employed, deduct from his own monthly pay the 
full amount paid to or expended by the Government per month on 



Sec. 7. That in lieu of the present rate of mileage allowed to officers 
of the Army when travelling on public duty, where transportation in 
kind is not furnished to them by the Government, not more than six 
cents per mile shall hereafter be allowed, unless where an officer is 
ordered from a station east of the Rocky Mountains to one west of the 
same mountains, or vice versa, when ten cents per mile shall be allowed 
to him; and no officer of the Army , . . of the United States shall 
be paid mileage except for travel actuallj^ performed at his own 
expense and in obedience to orders. 

* -x- * 

Sec. 12. That whenever the name of any officer of the Army . . . 
shall have been borne on the Army Register . . . forty-live ^^ears, 
or he shall he of the age of sixty-two years, it shall be in the discretion 
of the President to retire him . . . ; and the President is hereby 
authorized to assign an}" officer retired under this section or the act of 
August third, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, to any appropriate 
dut}'; and such officer thus assigned shall receive the full pay and 
emoluments of his grade while so assigned and employed. 



March .8, 1863 {12-709). — Under section 42 the franking privilege was conferred 
on chiefs of bureaus or chief clerks, under regulations to be prescribed by the Post- 
master-General. The act of June 1, 1864, authorized franked matter to be conveyed 
free of postage without being indorsed "official business" or with the name of the 
writer. 

June 11, 1SG4 (13-123). — Heads of bureaus prohibited from receiving pay far their 
services in any matter where the United States is a party. 

Act of March 3^ 1865 {IS Statu. , Jf87) 

AN ACT to amend the several acts heretofore passed to provide for the enrolling and 
calling out the national forces, and for other purposes. 

That the measure of allowance for pay of an officer's servant is the 
pay of a private soldier as fixed by law at the time; that no noncom- 
missioned officer shall be detailed or employed to act as a servant, nor 
shall an}" private soldier be so detailed or employed except with his 
own consent; that for each soldier employed as a servant by any officer 
there ehall be deducted from the monthly pay of such officer the full 
monthh' pay and allowances of the soldier so employed; and that, 
including any soldier or soldiers so employed, no officer shall be 
allowed for any greater luunber of servants than is now provided by 
law, nor be allowed for any servant not actually and in fact in his 
employ. 



GENERAL PRUViyiONS. 35 

Act of March ;?, 1865 {13 Stats., 1^95). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending 
thirtietli June, eighteen hundred and sixty-six.^ 

■X- * * 

Sec. 3. That from and after the first day of March, eighteen hun- 
dred and sixty-five, and during the continuance of the present rebellion, 
the commutation price of ofiicers' subsistence shall be fifty cents per 
ration: Provided, That said increase shall not apply to the commuta- 
tion price of the rations of any officer above the rank of brevet 
brigadier-general, or of an}^ officer entitled to commutation for fuel 

and quarters. 

* * * 

Sec. 5. That commissioned officers of the Arm}', serving in the field, 
shall hereafter be permitted to purchase rations for their own use on 
credit from an}" commissary of subsistence at cost prices, and the 
amount due for rations so purchased shall be reported monthly to the 
Paymaster-General, to be deducted from the payment next following 
such purchase. And the Secretary of War is here))y directed to issue 
such orders and regulations as he may deem best calculated to insure 
the proper observance thereof. 

* * * 

Act of July 13, 1866 {U Stats., 90). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending 
thirtieth of June, eighteen liundred and sixty-seven, and for other purposes. 

* * -x- 

Sec. 8. That the allowance now made by law to officers travelling 
under orders where transportation is not furnished in kind shall be 
increased to ten cents per mile. 

Act of July 28, 1866 (i^ Stats., 332). 
AN ACT to increase and tix tlie military peace establishment of the United States. 

•X- -X- * 

Sec. 25. (The Subsistence Department to sell, at cost, to the officers 
and men such articles as may be designated from time to time by the 
inspectors-general of the Army) and if not paid for when purchased 
a true account thereof shall be kept and the amount due the Govern- 
ment sliall be deducted bv the paymaster at the payment next follow- 
ijig such })urchase: Provided, That this section shall not go into eti:'ect 
until the first day of July, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven. 

* * * 

Se(\ 82.^ That officers of the Regular Army entitled to be retired 
on account of disability occasioned l)y wounds received in battle may 
be retired upon the full rank of the connuand hold by them, whether 
in the regular or volunteer service at the time such wounds were 
received. 

-X- * * 

^Section 6 authorizes 1 pound of tobacco per month to be issued to enlisted men at 

cost prices exclusive of cost of transi)ortation. 
''■ Repealed by act of June 10, 1872. 



36 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S, ARMY. 

Sec. 35. That the third section of the act entitled "An act makinj^ 
appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending- thir- 
tieth of June, eighteen hundred and sixty -six," shall continue in force 
for one year from the passage of this act: Provided^ That no officer 
who is furnished with quarters in kind shall be entitled to receive the 
increased commutation of rations hereby authorized. 



Act of March ^, 1867 {IJ^ StaU., ^«?^). 

AN ACT tij iiruvide for a teinporary increase of the pay of officers in the Army of 
the United States, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

That for two years from the first day of July, eighteen hundred 
and sixty-six, all officers of the Army below the rank of major-general 
. . . shall be paid an addition of thirty-three and one-third pei' 
centum to their present pay proper; . . . 

* -X- * 

Sec. 9. That section fifteen of the "Act to increase the present 
military establishment of the United States, and for other purposes,'' 
approved June fifth, eighteen hundred and thirty -eight, be amended 
so that general officers shall not hereafter be excluded from receiving 
the additional ration for every five years' service; and it is hereby 
further provided that officers on the retired list of the Army shall 
have the same allowance of additional rations for everj" five years' 
service as officers in active service. 

March 2, 1867 {14-434) • — In computing length of service of any officer, he shall be 
credited with the time he actually served, continuously or at different periods, in 
the Regular Army, or in the volunteer service since April 19, 1861. First section of 
act of March 3, 1865, relative'to pay of an officer's servant, not to be construed as 
retrospective or retroactive in its operation. 

March 2, 1867 {14-517). — Brevet rank may be conferred (ju officers for gallant, 
meritorious or faithful conduct in the volunteer service prior to their ai^pointment in 
the Regular Army. 

Resolution of July 25, 1868 {15 Stats., 261). 

A RESOLUTION granting permission to officers and soldiers to wear the T)adge of 
the corps in which they served during the rebellion. 

That all who served as officers, noncommissioned officers, privates, 
or other enlisted men in the Regular Army, volunteer or militia forces 
of the United States during the war of the rebellion . . . shall be 
entitled to wear on occasions of ceremony the distinctive uruiy badge 
ordered or adopted by the army corps and division, respectively, in 
which they served. 

March 1, 1869 {15-280). — Franking privilege can only be exercised ))y written 
autograph signature. 

Act <f Junuiirij ■:il, 1870 {16 Stats., 62). 

AN ACT relating to retired officers of the Army. 

That no retired offit-er of the Arni}^ shall hereafter be assigned to 
duty of any kind, or be entitled to receive more than the pay und 



GENERAL PROVISIONS. 37 

allowances provided by law for retired officers of hi.s g'rade; and all 
such assigiiinents heretofore made shall terminate within thirty days 
from the passag^e of this act. 



Resolution of Apt'il 6', 1870 {16 Stats., 372). 

A RESOLUTION relating to officers of the Soldiers' Home. 

That the law passed January twenty-first, eighteen hundred and 
seventy, prohibiting- the assignment of retired officers of the Army to 
duty shall not apply to officers selected ])y the Board of Commissioners 
of the Soldiers' Home, District of Columbia, for dut}" at that institu- 
tion, such selection being- approved by the Secretary of War: Pro- 
vided, That they receive from the Government only the pay and 
emoluments allowed b}^ law to retired officers. 

Act of July IB, 1870 {16 Stals., 315). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending June 
thirty, eighteen hundred and seventy-one, and for other purposes. 

-X- * -A 

Sec. 4. That the President be, and he is hereby, authorized, at his 
discretion, to place on the retired list of the Army, on their own 
application, any commissioned officers who have been thirty years in 
the service, and the officers who may be retired by virtue of this sec- 
tion shall be entitled to the same pay and emoluments as are now 
allowed, or may be hereafter allowed, to officers retired from active 

service. 

* * * 

Sec. 14. . . . it shall be ludawful for any officer to use any 
enlisted man as a servant in any case whatever. 

* * -X- 

Sec. 24. That the pay of the officers of the Army shall be as follows: 
. The pay of major-general shall be seven thousand live hundred 
dollars; the pay of brigadier-general shall be live thousand live hun- 
dred dollars; the pay of colonel shall be three thousand five hundred 
dollars; the pay of lieutenant-colonel shall be three thousand dollars; 
the pay of major shall l)e two thousand five hundred dollars; the pay 
of captain, mounted, shall be two thousand dollars; . . . the pay 
of first lieutenant, mounted, shall be sixteen hundred dollars; . . . 
the })ay of second lieutenant, mounted, shall be fifteen hundred dollars; 
and there shall be allowed and paid to each and every 
commissioned officer below the rank of brigadier-general, includ- 
ing . . . others having assimilated rank or pay, ten per centum 
of their current yearly pay for each and every term of five 3^ears of 
service: Provided., That the total amount of such increase for length 
of service shall in no case exceed forty per centum on the yearly pay 
of his grade as established by this act: And jyro in ded further. That 
the pay of a colonel shall in no case exceed four thousand five hundred 
dollars per annum, nor the pa}^ of a lieutenant-colonel four thousand 
dollars per annum, and these sums shall be in full of all commutation 
of quarters, fuel, forage, servants' wages and clothing, longevity 
rations, and all allowances of every name and nature whatever, and 



38 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF V. S. ARMY. 

shall be paid monthly l)y the paymaster: Provided, That fuel, (luartcrs, 
and forage in kind may be furnished to offieer.s l)y the Quarter- 
master's Department, as now allowed ])y law and regulations: And 
provided fxii'tlur. That when an offieer shall travel under orders, and 
shall not be furnished transportation by the Quartermaster's Depart- 
ment, or on a conveyance belonging to or chartered by the United 
States, he shall be allowed ten cents per mile and no more, for each 
mile actually by him traveled under such order, distances to be calcu- 
lated according to the nearest post routes; and no payment shall be 
made to any officer except by a paymaster of the Army. Officers 
retired from active service shall receive seventy-live per centum of the 
pay of the rank upon which they are retired. 

Junes, 1872 {17-283). — Franking privilege conferred on heads of bureaus; privilege 
to be exercised by written autograph signature; official communications addressed 
to them to pass free of postage. The act of January 31, 1873 (17-421), a))olished the 
franking privilege after July 1, 1873, and the act of March 3, 1873 (17-530), provided 
for special stamps and envelopes for official business. 

Aet of June 10, 1872 {17 Stats., 378). 

AN ACT relative to retired officers of the Army. 

That all officers of the United States Army who may hereafter be 
retired shall be retired upon the actual rank held l)y them at the date 
of retirement, and the thirty-second section of the act to increase and 
fix the military peace establishment of the United States, approved 
July twenty-eighth, eighteen hundred and sixty-six, is here] )y repealed. 

May S, 1874 {18-48). — Officers on duty west of north and south line through 
Omalia, Nebr., and north of line east and west upon southern boundary of Arizona, 
allowed 60 days' leave with i^ay when taken once in 2 years, 3 months' if once in 
three years, and 4 months' if once in 4 years. 

Act of June 16, 1874 U'"^ Stats., 72). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year end- 
ing June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-five, and foi- other ])urposes. 

-JE- -X- * 

. . . That only actual traveling expenses shall be allowed to any 
person holding . . . appointment under the United States, and 
all allowances for mileages or transportation in excess of the amount 
actually paid are hereby declared illegal; . 



Aet of July 21^, 1876 {19 Stats., 97). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year end- 
ing June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-seven, and for other purposes. 

* * -X- 

Sec. 2. That when any officer travels under orders, and is not fur- 
nished transportation by the Quartermaster's Department, or on a 
conveyance l^elonging to or chartered by the United States, or on any 
railroiid on which the troops or supplies of the United States are 
entitled to ])e transported free of charge he shall be allowed eight cents 
a mile, . 



GENERAL PKOVISIONS. 39 

REVISED STATUTES— SECOND EDITION— 1878. 



Skc. 1145. Commissioned officers of the Army, serving in the field, 
may purchase rations for their own use, from any commissary of sul) 
sistence on credit, at cost prices; and the amounts due for such pur- 
chaseis shall be reported monthly to the Paymaster-General. - 

* * * 

Sec. 1204. . . . Promotions in the stafl' of the Army shall be 
made in the several departments and corps, respectively. 

Sec. 1205. Officers may be transferred from the line to the staff of 
the Army without prejudice to their rank or promotion in the line; 
but no officer shall hold, at the same time, an appointment in the line 
and an appointment in the staff which confer equal rank in the Army. 
When any officer so transferred has, b}'^ virtue of seniority, obtained 
or become entitled to a grade in his regiment equal to the grade of his 
commission in the staff', he shall vacate either his commission in the 
line or his commission in the staff'. 

* * * 

Sec. 122T. All persons who have served as officers, noncommissioned 
officers, privates, or other enlisted men, in the Regular Army, volun- 
teer, or militia forces of the United States, during the war of the 
rebellion, * * * shall be entitled to wear, on occasions of cere- 
mony, the distinctive army badge ordered for or adopted by the army 
corps and division, respectively, in which they served. 

* * * 

Sec. 1232. No officer shall use an enlisted man as a servant in any 

case whatever. 

* * * 

Sec. 1243. When an officer has served forty consecutive years as a 
conunissioned officer, he shall, if he makes application therefor to the 
President, l)e retired from active service and placed upon the retired 
list. When an officer has been thirty years in service, he may, upon 
his own application, in the discretion of the President, be so retired, 
and placed on the retired list. 

Sec. 1244. When any officer has served forty-five j^ears as a commis- 
sioned officer, or is sixty-two years old, he may be retired from active 
service at the discretion of the Pi'esident. 

Sec. 1245. When any officer has become incapable of performing 
the duties of his office, he shall ])e either retired from active service, 
or wholly retired from the service, by the President, as hereinafter 
provided. 

Sec. 1246. The Secretary of War, under the direction of the Presi- 
dent, shall, from time to time, assemble an army retiring board, con- 
sisting of not more than nine nor less than five officers, two-fifths of 
whom shall be selected from the medical corps. The board, excepting 
the olfic(>rs selected from the medical corps, shall be composed, as far 
as may be, of seniors in rank to the officer whose disability is inquired of. 

* * * 

Sec. 1255. Officers retired from active service shall be withdrawn 
from . . . the line of ])r()m<)tion. 

Sec. 1250. Officers i-etii^vl jrom active service shall be entitled to 



40 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKI' OF GENKKAL STAFF OF U. S. AKMY. 

wear the uniform of the rank on which they may ])e retired. They 
shall continue to be borne on the Army Register, and .shall be subject 
to the rules and articles of war, and to trial by general court-martial 
for any breach thereof. 

* * -X- 

Sec. 1259. Retired officers of the Army may be assigned to duty at 
the Soldiers' Home, upon a selection by the commissioners of that insti- 
tution, approved by the Secretary of War; and a retired officer shall 
not be assignable to any other duty: Provideih That they receive from 
the Government only the pay and emoluments allowed by law to retired 

officers. 

* * * 

Sec. 1261. The officers of the Army shall be entitled to the pay 
herein stated after their respective designations: 

* * * 

Major-general, seven thousand live hundred dollars a year. 
Brigadier-general, five thousand five hundred dollars a year. 
Colonel, three thousand five hundred dollars a year. 
Lieutenant-colonel, three thousand dollars a j^ear. 
Major, two thousand five hundred dollars a year. 
Captain, mounted, two thousand dollars a year. 

w * * 

First lieutenant, mounted, sixteen hundred dollars a year. 
Second lieutenant, mounted, fifteen hundred dollars a year. 

* * * 

All other storekeepers, tw^o thousand dollars a year. 

Sec. 1262. There shall be allowed and paid to each commissioned 
officer below the rank of lu'igadier-general, including . . . others 
having assimilated rank or pay, ten per centum of their current yearly 
pay for each term of five years pf service. 

Sec. 1263. The total amount of such increase for length of service 
shall in no case exceed forty per centum on the yearly pay of the 
grade as provided by law. 

Sec. 1261:. Brevets conferred upon commissioned officers shall not 
entitle them to any increase of pay. 

* * * 

Sec. 1267. In no case shall the pay of a colonel exceed four thou- 
sand five hundred dollars a year, or the pay of a lieutenant-colonel 
exceed four thousand dollars a year. 

Sec. 1268. The sums hereinbefore allowed shall be paid in monthly 
payments by the paymaster. 

Sec. 1269. No allowances shall be made to officers in addition to their 
pay except as hereinafter provided. 

Sec. 1270. Fuel, quarters, and forage may be furnished in kind to 
officers, by the Quartermaster's Department, according to law and 
regulations: Provided^ howeve7\ That when forage in kind can not 
be furnished by the proper departnu^nts, then and in all such cases 
officers entitled to forage may commute the same according to existing 
regulations: . 

Sec. 1271. Forage in kind may be furnished to officers by the quar- 
termasters' corps, as follows: 

Major-general, for five horses. 

Brigadier-general, for four horses. 



GENERAL PKOVISIONS. 41 

Colonel, for two horses. 

Lieuteiiiint-coloiiel, for two horses. 

Major, for two horses. 

Captains and lieutenants, mounted, for two horses. 

* * * 

All other storekeepers, for two horses. 

Sec. 1272. Forage shall be allowed to officers only for horses author- 
ized by law, and actually kept by them in service when on duty and 
at the place where they are on duty. 

Sec. 1273. When any officer travels under orders, and is not fur- 
nished transportation by the Quartermaster's Department, or on a 
conveyance belonging to or chartered by the United States, he shall be 
allowed ten cents a mile, and no more, for each mile actually traveled 
under such order, distances to be calculated according to the nearest 
post routes; and no payment shall be made to any officer except by a 
paymaster of the Army. 

Sec. 1274. Officers retired from active service shall receive seventy- 
live per centum of the pay of the rank upon which they are retired, 

* * * 

Sec. 1296. The President may prescribe the uniform of the Army 
and the quantity and kind of clothing which shall be issued annually 
to the troops of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 1299. The amount due from any officer for rations purchased 
on credit, or for any articles designated by the inspectors-general of 
the Army and purchased on credit from commissaries of subsistence, 
shall be deducted from the payment made to him next after such sale 
shall have been reported to the Paymaster-General. 

* * x- 

Sec. 1779._ No executive officer, other than the heads of Departments, 
shall apply more than thirty dollars annually, out of the contingent 
fund under his control, to pay for newspapers, pamphlets, periodicals, 
or other books or prints not necessary for the business of his office. 

* * * 

Sec. 3788. No officer in charge of any bureau or office in any Depart- 
ment shall cause to be printed, at the public expense, an}^ report he 
may make to the President or to the head of the Department, except 
as provided for in this title. [Public Printing.] 

Sec. 3789. No printing or binding shall be done, or blank books 
furnished . . . for any of the Executive Departments, except on 
a written requisition by tlie head of such Department, or one of his 
assistants. 



STATUTES AT LARGE. 

Act of Jim e 1S\ 1878 {W Stats., IJ/S). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-nine, and for other purposes. 

-X- * x- 

Sec. 8. Allowance of or conn nutation for fuel to commissioned offi- 
cers is hereby prohibited; but i'lid may l»e furnished to the officers of 



42 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

the Army l>y the Qnarterinaster's Department, for the actual use of 
such officers only, at the rate of three dollars per cord for standard 
oak wood, or at an equivalent rate for other kinds of fuel, according 
to the reo'ulations now in existence; and forage in kind may be fur- 
nished to the officers of the Army, by the Quartermaster's Depart- 
ment, onl}'^ for horses owned and actually kept by such officers in the 
performance of their official militaiy duties when on duty with troops 
in the held or at such military posts west of the Mississippi River, as 
may be from time to time designated ])y the Secretary of War, and 
not otherwise, as follows: 

* * * 

To a major-general, three horses. 

To a brigadier-general, three horses. 

To a colonel, two horses. 

To a lieutenant-colonel, two horses. 

To a major, two horses. 

To a captain (mounted), two horses. 

To a lieutenant (mounted), two horses. 

* * * 

Sec. U. That at all posts and stations where there are public quarters 
belonging to the United States, officers may be furnished with quar- 
ters in kind in such public quarters, and not elsewhere, hy the Quar- 
termaster's Department, assigning to the officers of each grade, 
respectively, such number of rooms as is now allowed to such grade 
by the rules and regulations of the Army: P/'ovlded, That at places 
where there are no public quarters commutation therefor maybe paid 
])y the Pay Department to the officer entitled to the same, at a rate not 
exceeding ten dollars per room per month. 

* -X- x- 

Sec. 13. That from and after the passage of this act all promotions 
ia the Army, in each and every grade, . . . corps and d(>part- 
ment thereof, shall cease; and thereafter no promotions or appoint- 
iiKMits shall ])e made to till any vacancy which may occur, or be created 
therein, until after such report shall be made and acted upon by 
Congress. 



Act of Jnve 30, 1882 {22 StaU.. 117). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the snpportof the Army for the fiscal yearondino: 
Jnn(> thirtietli, eightei'n luindred and eighty-three, and for other jmrposes. 

. . . And j>Tovided further. That on or after the passage of this 
act, when an officer has served forty years either as an officer or soldier 
in the regular or volunteer service, or both, he shall, if he make appli- 
cation therefor to the President, be retired from active service and 
l)laced on the retired list, and when an officer is sixty-four years of age 
he shall be retired from active service and placed on the retired 

list. . . . 

* * * 



GENERAL PROVISIONS. 43 

Arf of Jxne SO, 1SS6 {:2J^ Sfals., 93). 

AN ACT uuikintj; apiiroiiriations for the support of the Army fortlie fiscal year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen liundred and eighty-seven, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

. That . . . the maximtini .siini to be allowed and paid 
[for inileao'e] shall be four cents per mile, . . , and in addition 
thereto the cost of transportation, exclusiv^e of sleeping or parlor-cur 

fare; . . . 

* * * 

Act of Fehruary 9, 1887 {U Stats., 394). 

AN ACT making appropriations for tlie support of the Army for the fiscal year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-eight, and for other purposes. 

* -x- -;;- 

. . . That . . . the maximum sum to be allowed and paid 
to an officer [for mileage] shall be four cents per mile, . . . and 

. . . upon the officer's certificate that it was not practicable to 
obtain transportation from the Quartermaster's Department, the cost 
of the transportation actuall}^ paid ])y the officer . . . , exclusive 
of sleeping- or parlor car fare and transfers: And jwovided further., 
That when any officer so traveling shall travel in whole or in part on any 
railroad on which the troops and supplies of the United States are 
entitled to be transported free of charge, he shall l)e allowed for him- 
self only four cents per mile as a sul)sistence fund for every mile nec- 
essarily traveled over any such last-named railroad; . 

* * * 

Act of Sejytemher 22, 1888 {25 Stats., 4,81). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-nine, and for other purposes. 

* * -X- 

. . . That the transportation furnished by the Quartermaster's 
Department to officers traveling without troops shall be limited to 
transportation in kind, not including sleeping or parlor car accommo- 
dations, over free roads, over bond-aided Pacific railroads, and by 
conveyance belonging to the said Department; . 

-X * * 

March 2, 1880 {25-825). — The act of this date omits the re()uirement as to the cer- 
tificate of the officer. 

Resolution <f Septemher 2f>, 1890 {26 Stat.s.. 081). 

JOINT RESOLUTION granting permission to officers and enlisted men of the Army 
and Navy of the LTnited States to wear the badges adopted by military societies of 
men who served in the war of the Revolution, the war of eighteen hundred and 
twelve, the Mexican war, and the war of the rebellion. 

That the distinctive badges adopted by military societies of men 
who served in the armies . . . of the United States in the war of 
the Revolution, the war of eighteen hundred and twelve, the Mexican 
war, and the war of the rebellion, respectivel}', may be worn upon all 



44 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

occasions of ceremoii}" by officers and enlisted men of the Army . . . 
of the United States, who are members of said organizations in their 
own right. 

Act of October 1, 1890 (26 Stats., 562). 

AN ACT to provide for the examination of certain officers of the Army and to regu- 
late promotions therein. 

That hereafter promotion to every grade in the Army below the 
rank of brigadier-general, throughout each . . . corps or depart- 
ment of the service, shall, subject to the examination hereinafter pro- 
vided for, be made according to seniority in the next lower grade of 
that . . . corps or department. 



Act ofAiujust 5, 1892 {27 Stats., SJi9). 

AN ACT making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for 
the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-three, and for 
other purposes. 

* * * 

No printing and binding shall be done by the Public Printer for the 
several Executive . . . Departments of the Government in any 
fiscal year in excess of the allotment for such Departments, and none 
shall 1)6 done without a special requisition, signed by the chief of the 
Department and tiled with the Public Printer. . . . 

Heads of Executive Departments shall direct whether reports made 
to them by bureau chiefs . . . shall be printed or not. 

No report, document, or publication of any kind distributed by or 
from ... or bureau of the Government shall contain any notice 
that the same is sent with "the compliments" of an officer of the 
Government. 

-X- * * 

March 2, 1897 {29-609). — This act simply provides that tlie maximum sum to be 
allowed for mileage shall be four cents per mile. 

Act of March 15, 1898 {30 Stats., 318). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen Imndred and ninety-nine. 

-X- -A- -X- 

. . . That the maximum sum to be allowed and paid to any offi- 
cer of the Army shall be seven cents per mile. . . . Provided 
further, That when any officer so traveling shall travel in whole or in 
part on any railroad on which the troops and supplies of the United 
States are entitled to be transported free of charge, or over any of 
the l)ond-aided Pacitic railroads, or over the railroad of any railroad 
company which is entitled to receive only tif ty per centum of the com- 
pensation earned ])y such company for transportation services rendered 
to the United States, he shall be furnished with a transportation request 
by the Quartermaster's Department for such travel; and the cost of 
the transportation so furnished shall be a charge against the officer's 
mileage account, ... to ))e deducted ... at rates paid by 
the general public, . . . ProrJdedfurtlier, That officers who, by 



\ 



genp:ral rKovisioisrs. 45 

reason of tho decision of the accountino" offii'ers of the Treasury, have 
been compelled to pay from their own means one-half of the cotst of 
their travel fare over railroads known as tifty per centum roads, shall 
be reimbursed the same. . . . 



Act of April 22, 1898 {30 Stat.s., 361). 

AN ACT to provide for temporarily increasing the military establishment of the 
United States in time of war, and for other purposes. 

* * ■;:■ 

Sec. 10. . . . The staff officers herein authorized for the corps, 
division, and brigade couimanders may be appointed by the President, 
by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, as officers of the 
Volunteer Army, or may be assigned hy him, in his discretion, from 
officers of the Regular Army, or tlie Volunteer Army, or of the militia 
in the service of the United States: Provided, That when relieved from 
such staff' service said appointments or assignments shall terminate.^ 



Act of May 28, 1808 (30 Stats., 421). 

AN ACT to amend sections ten and thirteen of an act entitled " An Act to provide for 
temporarily increasing the military establishment of the United States in time of 
war, and for other purposes," approved April twenty-second, eighteen hundred 
and ninety-eight. 

That so much of section ten of the act approved April twenty-second, 
eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, entitled "An Act to provide for 
temporarily increasing the military establishment of the United States 
in time of war, and for other purposes,"" as provides that "officers 
appointed or assigned to the staff' of commanders of army corps, 
divisions, and brigades shall serve only in such capacity, and that when 
relieved from suc-h staff' service such appointments or assignments shall 
terminate," be, and the same is hereby, repealed, and that assignments 
of the officers of the volunteer staff' shall be governed by the same 
rules and regulations as those of the Regular Army. 



Act ofjfarch 2, 1899 (30 Stats., 977). 

AN ACT for increasing the efhciency of the Army of the United States, and for other 

purposes. 

•X- -X- * 

Sec. 7. . . . That in time of var retired officers of the Army 
may, in the discretion of the President, l)e employed on active duty, 
other than in the command of troops, and when so employed they shall 
receive the full pay and allowances of their grades. . . . 
* * * 

Sec. 14. . . . Provided, That for each Regular Army officer of 
a staff" corps or department who may be retained in or appointed to a 

^For designation of staff oHi^'ers, see .\djutant-General, Inspector-General, Judge- 
Advocate-G'eneral, Quartermaster-General, Commissary-Geueral, Surgeon-General, 
and Engineers. 



46 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. 8. ARMY. 

higher vohmteor rank in said statf corps or department than that actu- 
ally held by him in the regular establishment there may l)e appointed 
one officer of volunteers of the lowest grade mentioned in this section 
for such staff corps or department, but no appointment will be made 
which will increase the total numlier of officers, regular and volunteer, 
serving in any grade above the number authorized l)y this act: And 
■provided aho^ That all the volunteer ataflP officers herein authorized 
to be appointed or retained in the service shall be honorabh' discharged 
on fluly first, nineteen hundred and one, or sooner if their services 
are no longer required: And provided further^ That the officers herein 
authorized shall l)e appointed by the President, by and with the advice 
and consent of the Senate.^ 

Sec. 15. . . . Provided also^ That each and every provision of 
this act shall continue in force until July first, nineteen hundred and 
one; and on and after that date all the . . . staff . . . officers 
appointed to the Army under this act shall l)e discharged, and the 
members restored in each grade to those existing at the passage of this 
act: . . . And provided fit rtlier^ That no officer who has been, or 
may be, promoted under existing law, or under the rules of seniority, 
shall be disturbed in his rank. 



Act of March 3, 1899 (.30 Stats., 1064). 

AN ACT making appropriation for the support of tlie Regular and Volunteer Army 
for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred. 

■/c * * 

. . . That actual expenses only shall l)e paid to officers when 

traveling to and from our island possessions in the Atlantic and Pacific 

oceans. 

* * * 

Act of May '26, 1900 {31 Stats., — ). 

AN ACT making approjiriations for the supi)ort of the Regular and Volunteer Army 
for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and one. 

7t- * * 

For mileage to officers . . . Provided further. That officers 
who so desire may, upon application to the Quartermaster's Depart- 
ment, be furnished with transportation requests, exclusive of sleeping 
and parlor car acconmiodations, for the entire journey under their 
orders; and the transportation so furnished shall be a charge against 
the officer's mileage account, to be deducted at the rate of three cents 
per mile. . . . J.;i(i w'6»wc?<?<:Zyi/r!5At?r, That when the established 
route of travel shall, in wnole of in part, be over the line of any rail- 
road on whi(^h the troops and supplies of the United States are entitled 
to be transported free of charge, or over any of the bond-aided Pacific 
railroads, or over the railroad of any railroad company which by law 
or agreement is entitled to receive only fifty per centiun of the com- 
pensation earned l)y such company for transportation services rendered 
the United States, officers traveling as herein provided for shall, for 

^ For retention in service of officers of the volunteer staff, see Adjutant-(Teneral, 
Inspector-General, Judge- Advocate-General, Quartermaster-General, Commissary- 
General, Surgeon-General, Paymaster-General, and Signal Corps. 



GENERAL PKOVISIONS. 47 

the travel over such roads, be furnished with transportation requests, 
exclusi\'e of sleeping" and parlor car acconnnodations, b}^ the Quarter- 
master's Department: A)ul lyro^iiAed further^ That when transporta- 
tion is furnished l>y the Quartermaster's Department, or when the 
established route of travel is over any of the railroads above specified, 
there shall l)e deducted from the officer's mileag-e account ])y the pay- 
master paying- the same three cents per mile for the distance for which 
transportation has been or should have been furnished: And j)i'<>vlded 
fu7iJiei\ That actual expenses only shall be paid to officers for sea 
travel when traveling, as herein provided for, to, from, or between 
our island possessions: Provided aUo^ That hereafter when an officer 
shall be discharged from the service, except by way of punishment for 
an otfense. he shall receive for travel allowances from the place of 
his discharge to the place of his residence at the time of his appoint- 
ment or to the place of his original muster into the service, four 
cents per mile. . . . That for sea travel on discharge, to, from, 
or lietween our island possessions, actual expenses only shall be paid 
to officers. 

* * * 

Provided^ That hereafter the pay proper of all officers 
. . . serving in Porto Rico, Cu])a, the Philippine Islands, ILawaii, 
and in the Territory of Alaska shall be increased ten per centum for 

officers. ... 

* * * 

That the act approved Jan uar}' twelfth, eighteen hundred and ninety- 
nine, granting ''extra pay to officers and enlisted men of the United 
States Volunteers," shall extend to all volunteer officers of the general 
stall' who have not received waiting-orders pay prior to discharge, at the 
rate of one month to those who did not serve beyond the limits of the 
United States and two months to those who served beyond the limits 
of the United States; ... 

* * * 

Two months' extra pay, on discharge, to those who had served faith- 
fully beyond the limits of the United States, and one month's extra 
pay to those who had served within the limits of the United States. 

Act of Fehruary ",3, 1901 {31 Stats. ^ — ). 

AN ACT to increase the efficiency of the permanent niiUtary estabhshment of the 

United States. 

* x- * 

Sec. 26. . . . That when vacancies shall occur in the position 
of chief of an}' staff corps or department the President may appoint to 
such vacancies, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, offi- 
cers of the Army at large not below the rank of lieutenant-colonel, 
and who shall hold office for terms of four years. When a vacancy in 
the position of chief of any staff corps or department is filled 1)y the 
appointment of an officer below the rank now provided b}' law for said 
office, said chief shall, while so serving, have the same rank, pay, and 
allowances now provided for the chief of such corps or department. 
And any officer now holding office in any corps or department who 
shall hereafter serve as chief of a staff corps or department and shall 
subse(|uently be retired, shall be retired with the rank, pay, and allow- 
ances authorized by law for the retirement of such corps or department 



48 LEC4ISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

chief: Provided^ That so long as there remain in service officers of an}'^ 
stafi' corps or department holding permanent appointments, the chief 
of such stall' corps or department shall be selected from the officers so 
remaining therein. 

* * * 

Sec' 34. That all officers who have served during the war with Spain, 
or since, as officers of the Regular or Volunteer Army of the United 
States, and have been honorably discharged from the service by resig- 
nation or otherwise, shall be entitled to bear the official title and, upon 
occasions of ceremony, to wear the uniform of the highest grade they 
have held by brevet or other commission in the regular or volunteer 

service. 

* * * 

Sec. 41. That the distinctive badges adopted hy military societies 
of men ''who served in the armies and navies of the United States 
during the Spanish-American war and the incident insurrection in the 
Fhilip]>ines'"' may be worn upon all occasions of ceremony by officers 
and men of the Army and Navy of the United States who are members 
of said organizations in their own right. 

A(^t of March ^, 1901 {31 StaU., —). 

AN ACT making appropriation for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending 
June tlairtieth, nineteen hundred and two. 

* * * 

. . . ProDided^ That leaves of absence which mav be granted 
officers of the Regular or Volunteer Army serving in the Territory of 
Alaska or without the limits of the United States, for the purpose of 
returning thereto, or which may have been granted such officers for 
such purpose since the thirteenth day of October, eighteen hundred 
and ninety -eight, shall be regarded as taking effect on the dates such 
officers reached or may have reached the United States, respectivelj^, 
and terminating, or as having terminated, on the respective dates of 
their departure from the United States in returning to their com- 
mands, as authorized by an order of the Secretary of War dated Octo- 
})er thirteenth, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight: . . . Provided 
furtJier^ That any officer or enlisted man in the service of the United 
States who was discharged in the Philippine Islands and there reen- 
tered the service through commission or enlistment shall, when dis- 
charged, except l)y way of punishment for an offense, receive for travel 
allowances from the place of his discharge to the place in the United 
States of his last preceding appointment or enlistment, or to his home if 
he was appointed or enlisted at a place other than his home, four cents per 
mile: . . . That hereafter the paj^ proper of all officers . . . 
serving beyond the liniit.^ of the States comprising the Union, and the 
Territories of the Ignited States contiguous thereto, shall be increased 
ten per centum foi' officers . . . over and above the rates of pay 
proper as fixed l)y law for time of peace, and the time of such service 
shall be counted from the date of departure from said States to the 
date of return thereto: I^rovided fiirfJirt\ That the officers . . . 
who have served in China at any time since the twenty-sixth day of 
May, nineteen hundred, shall be allowed and paid for such service the 
same increase of pay proper as is herein provided for: . . . 



l.-THE ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S DEPARTMENT. 



S. Doc. any ± ■ 49 



THE ADJUTANT-OENERAL S DEPARTMENT. 



The Adjutant-General's Department eo nom'me was first established 
under the aet of March 3, 1813. 

From the disbandment of the Army in 1783 until the act of March 
3, 1791, there was no regular Adjutant-General. The act of March 5, 
1792, provided for an adjutant who should also do duty as inspector, 
and this dual function continued until the reorganization of the Army 
in 1821, which abolished the office of Adjutant and Inspector-General. 
This act, in effect, reduced the Adjutant-General's Department to one 
officer. There appears to have been no change in the legal status of 
the Department from that date to 1838, when, by the act of July 5 of 
that 3'ear, the President was empowered to appoint as many adjutant- 
generals, not exceeding six, as he might deem necessar3^ 

June 17, 1775. — Brig. Gen. (Maj. Gen., May 16, 1776) Horatio Gates (Virginia). 

June 5, 1776. — Col. Joseph Reed (Pennsylvania). 

Jan. 22, 1777. — Brig. Gen. Arthur St. Clair (Pennsylvania), Acting Adjutant-General. 

Feb. 20, 1777. — Brig. Gen. George Weedon (Virginia), Acting Adjutant-General. 

Apr. 19, 1777. — Col. Morgan Connor (Virginia), Acting Adjutant-General. 

June 18, 1777.— Col. Timothy Pickering^ (Massachusetts). 

Jan. 5, 1778. — Col. Alexander ScanimeP (Massachusetts). 

Jan. 8, 1781. — Brig. Gen. Edward Hand (Pennsylvania). 

Nov. 5, 1783. — Capt. William North, ^ Sixteenth Massachusetts Continental Infantry 
(Massachusetts), Acting Adjutant and Inspector. 

Oct. 18, 1787.— Ensign and Adjutant Ebenezer Denny, First American Regiment 
(Pennsylvania), Acting Adjutant-General. 

Nov. 7, 1790. — Lieut. John Pratt, First American Regiment (Connecticut), Acting 
Adjutant-General. 

Sept. — , 1791. — Lieut. Col. Winthrop Sargent,^ militia (Massachusetts), Acting 
Adjutant-General. 

Nov. 4, 1791. — Lieut. Ebenezer Denny, First Infantry (Pennsylvania), resumed 
duties of Acting Adjutant-General. 

Mar. 10, 1792. — Lieut. Henry De Butts, Fourth Infantry (Maryland), Acting Adju- 
tant and Inspector-General. 

Apr. 11, 1792. — Lieut. Col. Winthrop Sargent,* militia (Massachusetts). 

Feb. 23, 1793. — Maj. Michael Rudolph, Light Dragoons (Georgia). 

July 18, 1793. — Sublegionary Maj. and Inspector Edward Butler (Pennsylvania), 
Deputy pro tem. 

May 13, 1794. — Maj. John Mills, Second Sublegion (Massachusetts), Acting Adju- 
tant-General and Inspector. 

Feb. 27, 1796. — Maj. Jonathan Haskell, Fourth Sublegion (Massachusetts), Acting 
Adjutant-General and Inspector. 

^ Colonel Pickering was elected a member of the Board of War November 7, 1777, 
l^ut continued to do duty as Adjutant-General until General Scammel's arrival Jan- 
uary 13, 1778. 

'''Colonel Scannnel resigned his staff appointment January 1, 1781, to take com- 
mand of the First New Hampshire Regiment, but remained at headquarters until 
relieved by General Hand January 12, 1781. 

•'On the general disbandment of the Continental Army, Captain North, who had 
been designated as insjH'ctorto the troops remaining in service, acted as adjutant and 
insj lector to October 2S, 17S7. 

'Colonel SaigeTit declined llie apixvintinent, assigning as a reason that the office 
was not attended with sutlicient rank. 

51 



52 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENEEAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Aug. 1, 1796. — Capt. Edward Butler, Fourth Sublegion (Pennsylvania), Acting 
Adjutant-General and Inspeetor. 

Feb. 27, 1797.— Maj. Thomas H. Gushing,^ First Infantry (Massachusetts). 

July 19, 1798.— Brig. Gen. William North (New York). ' 

Mar. 26, 1802.— Maj. Thomas H. Gushing,'-* First Infantry (Massachusetts), Adjutant 
and Inspector. 

Apr. 2, 1807.— Maj. Abimael Y. Nicoll, of the Artillerists (New York), Adjutant 
and Inspector. 

Apr. 28, 1812. — Lieut. Col. Alexander Macomb,^ engineers (New York), Acting 
Adjutant-General. 

July 6, 1812.— Brig. Gen. Thomas II. Gushing (Massachusetts). 

Mar. 12, 1813.— Brig. Gen. Zebulon M. Pike* (New York), Adjutant and Inspector- 
General. 

May 9, 1814.— Brig. Gen. William H. Winder (Maryland), Adjutant and Inspector- 
General. 

Nov. 22, 1814. — Brig. Gen. Daniel Parker'' (Massachusetts), Adjutant and Inspector- 
General. 

Aug. 13, 1821. — Gol. James Gadsden*"' (North Garohna). 

May 8, 1822. — Gapt. Gharles J. Nourse, Second Artillery (District of Cokimbia), 
Acting Adjutant-General. 

Mar. 7,1825. — Gol. Roger Jones (Virginia) . 

July 15, 1852. — Gol. Samuel Gooper (New York). 

Mar. 7, 1861. — Gol. (Brig. Gen., Augusts, 1861), Lorenzo Thomas (Delaware). 

Feb. 22, 1869.— Brig. Gen. Edward 1). Townsend (Massachusetts). 

June 15, 1880. — Brig. Gen. Richard G. Drum (Pennsylvania). 

June 7, 1889. — Brig. Gen. John G. Kelton (Pennsylvania). 

July 5, 1892. — Brig. Gen. Robert Williams (Virginia). 

Nov. 6, 1893. — Brig. Gen. George D. Ruggles (New York). 

Sept. 11, 1897. — Brig. Gen. Samuel Breck (Massachusetts). 

Feb. 25, 1898.— Brig. Gen. (Maj. Gen., June 6, 1900) Henry G. Gorbin (Ohio). 

' The act of March 3, 1797, permitted the Brigadier-General (General in Ghief* to 
select his brigade major from the line of the Army. Major Gushing, not having relin- 
quished his rank in the infantry on being appointed inspector, was selected by Gen- 
eral Wilkinson and continued to perform the duties of inspector and adjutant until 
May 22, 1798. 

^ The act of May 14, 1800, disbanded the adjutant-general, and the duties of adju- 
tant and inspector were performed, under detail, by Major Gushing (who resided in 
Washington) from June 15, 1800, to April 2, 1807. 

^Golonel Macomb reheved Major Nicoll, April 28, 1812, having been directed in 
War Department order of that date "to perform the duties of Adjutant-General until 
fmiher orders." 

* General Pike was killed, after the capture of York, upper Ganada, by the explo- 
sion of a magazine April 27, 1813. From this time until May 19, 1814, the office 
remained vacant, the act of iMarch 3, 1813, having been construed to the effect that 
tliere could be but one Adjutant and Insi)ectoi--General, who must either bean officer 
appointed and confirmed to tliat office, or else be a brigadier-general especially des- 
ignated by the President to perform the functions. The affairs of the office were 
meanwhile administered by Maj. G. K. Gardner, Assistant Adjutant-General, until 
December 30, 1813, and from that date to May 28, 1814 (with the exception of the 
brief term of service of General Winder) by Gol. J. De B. Walbach, Adjutant-General, 
who was relieved at that date by Maj. John R. Bell, assistant inspector. 

^General Parker was appointed Paymaster-General June 1, 1821. By general 
orders of that date from headquarters of the Army Lieut. E. Kirhy, aid-de-camp, was 
directed to perform the duties of Adjutant-General of the Army until fin-ther orders. 

^Golonel Gadsden's appointment was not confirmed by tlie Senate and his com- 
mission expired March 22, 1822. On the following April 12 the President renomi- 
nated him for the office, but the Senate adhered to its original determination. 



THE ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S DEPAKTMENT. 



JOURNALS OF THE AMERICAN (CONTINENTAL) CONGRESS. 

June 16, 1775. 

Rexolved, . . . That there be an Adjutant-General. 

That his pay be one hundred and twenty-tive dollars per month. 

Jtme 17, 1775. 

The Congress then proceeded to the choice of the officers in the 
Army by ballot. 

* * * 

Horatio Gates, esq., Adjutant-General. 

Resolved, That Horatio Gates, esq.,* now chosen Adjutant-General, 
shall have the rank of brigadier-general. 

July 9, 1775. — Announces appointment of Brig. Gen. Horatio Gates as Atljutant- 
General of the Army. {Orders, General Headquarters, Cambridge.) 

July 17, 1775. 

Resolved, That the convention of New York be desired to recom- 
mend to General Schuyler a proper person for a deputy adjutant- 
general, or brigade major for the Army in the New York Department. 

July 19, 1775. 

Resolved, . . . That it be left to General Washington, if he 
thinks fit, to appoint three brigade majors and commission them 
accordingly. 

July ^9, 1775. 

Reml/ved, That the pay of the ... be ... : 
Deputy adjutant-general, fifty dollars per do, (month). 

* * * 

Brigade major, thirty-three dollars per do. (month). 

August 15, 1775. — " Davi<l Henley, esqr., is appointed brigade major to General 
Heath's brigade." 

" Joliii Trumbull, esqr., is appointed brigade major to General Spencer's brigade." 

" Richard Carey, esqr., is appointed brigade major to the brigade commanded by 
the eldest colonel." 

"Thomas Chase, Daniel Box, and Alexander Scammel, esqr., are appointed to 
continue to do duty of brigade majors to the brigades they respectively belong." 

August 17, 1775. — "Thomas Chase, esqr., is to continue to do duty as major of T)ri- 
gade to Brigadier-General Thomas's brigade." {Orders, General Headquarlci-n, 
Cambridge. ) 

August SO, 1775. — " By the orders of the 17th instant, Thomas Chase, esqr., was, to 
the prejudice of Samuel Brewer, esqr., through mistake appointed to be continued to 

* Afterwards major-general, and, in 1777, president of the Board of War. He 
accompanied Washington to Cainl)ri(lge. 

53 



54 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

.do duty to Brigadier-General Thomas's brigade, as major of brigade. His excellency 
orders that mistake to be rectified, and directs Samuel Brewer to be continued to act 
as major of brigade to Brigadier-General Thomas." {Orders, General Headquarters, 
Cambridge.) 

September U, 1775. 

Resolved^ That Edward Flemniino-, esq., be appointed deputy 
adjutant-general for the Army in the New York or Northern Depart- 
ment, with the rank of a colonel. 

Septemher 21, 1775. 

Resolved, That General Washing-ton be ordered to issue commissions 
to Majors Box, Scammel, and Brewer as l)rigade majors. 

* * * 

Rewlved, That General Schuyler be empowered to nominate and 
appoint a proper person to the office of brigade major in the army 
under his command, and to issue a commission accordingly. 

November 8, 1775. — "Congress directs you to acquaint General Schuyler that they 
approve of his appointment of Captain Dimon to be a brigade major, and have ordered 
him a commission accordingly." {Letter of committee to Messrs. R. R. Livingstone, Rob- 
ert Treat Paine, and J. Langdon. ) 

January?, 1776. — "The Adjutant-General will this day deliver to the brigade 
majors the number of the new articles of war necessary for each regiment, in their 
respective brigades; and that no mistake in regard to the said articles may possibly 
happen, each book is signed by the honorable John Hancock, esqr., president of the 
Continental Congress, and countersigned upon the title page by William Tudor, esqr., 
Judge-Advocate of the Army of the United Colonies." {Orders, General Head- 
quarters, Cambridge.) 

March 3, 1776. — "All arms in store fit for use may be delivered out to the Adjutant- 
General's order." {Orders, General Headquarters, Camtjridge.) 

March 6, 1776. 

Resolved, That Thomas Bullit, esq., be appointed deputy adjutant- 
general in the Southern Department with the rank of lieutenant- 
colonel. 

March 23, 1776. 

Resolved, . . . The committee on qualifications having recom- 
mended Peter Scull to be a brigade major in the Army of the United 
Colonies in the Middle Department. 

-J5- * * 

Resol/md, That conunissions l)e granted to them accordingly. 

March 30, 1776. 

Resolved, That each brigadier-general, when in command. ))e empow- 
ered to appoint a ])rigade major. 

May IS, 1776. 

Resolved, . . . That Thomas Bullit, esq., the deputy adjutant- 
general in Virginia, ])e advanced to the rank of colonel. 



THE adjutant-gp:nekal's department. 55 

June 5^ 1770. 

Besolved, That the . . . deputy adjutants-general, 
make regular returns and reports to Congress, and to the respective 
officers to whom they are deputies, at least once a month, and that the 
principals also make returns to Congress at the same periods. 

•X- * -x- 

Congress then proceeded to the election of an Adjutant-General 
. . to mi up the vacancies in those offices; when the ballots being 
taken and examined, 
Joseph Reed, esq., was elected Adjutant-General . . . 
* * * 

Resolved^ That Joseph Reed, esq., have the pay of 125 dollars a 
month and the rank of a colonel. 

June 17, 1776. 

Resolved., That an experienced general be immediately sent into 
Canada, with power to appoint a deputy adjutant-general, . . . 
and such other officers as he shall find necessary for the goad of the 
service . . . and notify the same to Congress for their approba- 
tion. 

_ June IS, 177G. — "Joseph Reed, esqr., is appointed Adjutant-General of all the Con- 
tinental forces with the rank of colonel." {Orders, General Headquarters, New York.) 
June ay, 177(i. — ''Jonathan ]\Iithin, esqr., is appointed brigade major to General 
Mifflin." {Orders, General Ileadquurters, New York.) 

July 19, 1776. 

The Congress proceeded to the election of a deputy adjittant-general 
for the fl3'ing camp; and the ballots being taken, 

Samuel Griffin, esq., was elected. 

Resolved, That Mr. Griffin, as deputy adjutant-general, have the 
rank of colonel. 

.Tuly 25, 1776. — "Peter Gusdon, esqr., is appointed major of brigade to Brigadier- 
General Heard." {Orders, General Headquarters, Neiv York.) 

.My 28, 1776. — "William Peek, esqr., who has for sometime past done the duty of 
brigadier major to General Spencer, is appointed to that office." {Orders, General 
Headquarters, New York.) 

August 7, 1776. — "John Palsgrave Wyllys, esqr., is appointed brigade major to 
General Wadsworth; ]Mark Hopkins, esqr., to General Fellows." {Orders, General 
Headquarters, New York.) 

August 9, 1776. — "Nicholas Fish, esqr., is appointed brigade major to General 
Scott." {Orders, General Headquarters, New York.) 

August 12, 1776. — " Major Henly (for the present) is to do duty as brigade major 
in General James C'linton's brigade, Major Box in General Nixon's, Major Living- 
ston in Lord Stirling's, and IMajorPeck in General Parsons', and Richard Piatt, esqr., 
is to do duty of brigade major in General ^NIcDougall's." {Orders, General Headquar- 
ters, New York.) 

August 15, 1776. — "Capt. Thomas Dyer to do the duty of brigade major to General 
Parsons' brigade till further orders." {Orders, General Headquarters, New York.) 

August 20, 1776. — " Edward Tilghman, esqr., is appointed as an assistant brigade 
major to Lord Stirling, the duty of the whole division being too great for one officer." 
{Orders, General Headquarters, Neu: York.) 

August 21, 1776. — "Adjutant Taylor to do the duty of brigade major to General 
McDougall's brigade during Major" Piatt's illness." {Orders, General. Headquarters, 
New York. ) 

August 81, 1776. — " Ebenezer Gray in appointed brigade major to General Par- 
sons." {Orders, General HeadquKrirrs. AVw York.) 



56 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U S. ARMY. 

September 1, 1776. — "Samuel Augustus Barker to act as major to the brigade under 
Colonel Douglass; Benjamin Talmadge, brigade major to Col. Chester." (Orders, 
General Headquarters, Neiv York.) 

September 4, 1776. — Captain Howell, of the 2nd Jersey regiment, was appointed 
brigade major to the 3rd Brigade (Col. Stark's). (Orders, Genercd Headquarters, 
Ticonderoga. ) 

September 6, 1776. — "David Henley, esqr., is appointed depy. ad j_t._ general until 
further orders, and immediately to repair to General Spencers' division to regulate 
the several returns and do the other duties of said office, extending his care to the 
division under General Heath." (Orders, General Headquarters, New York.) 

September 7, 1776. — "Major Lee is desired to do the duty of brigade major in Major 
Henly's stead, till an appointment is made." (Orders, General Headquarters, New 
York.) 

September 9, 1776. — "Mr. Adjutant Bradford to do the duty of brigade major to 
General Nixon's brigade during Major Box's illness." ( Orders, General Headquarters, 
New York.) 

September 10, 1776. — "Major Scammell is appointed a temporary assistant to the 
Adjutant-General, and is to repair to General Heath's division." (Orders, General 
Headquarters, New York.) 

A^epteniher 1'2, 1776. 

Congress then proceeded to the election of sundry officers; and the 
ballots being' taken, 

■X- * * 

John Trumbull, esq., was elected deputy adjutant-general of the 
Army in the Northern Department. 

September 28, 1776. — "Mr. Finn Wadsworth is appointed major of brigade to 
General Wads worth." (Orders, General Headquarters, Harlem Heights.) 

October 7, 1776. — "Capt. William McWilliams, of the 3rd Virginia Regiment, is to 
do the duty of brigade major in Colonel AVeedon's brigade till further notice." 
{Orders, General Headquarters, Harlem Heights.) 

October 9, 1776. — "David Dexter, esqr., is appointed to act as brigade major to the 
brigade iinder Colonel Lippet." ( Orders, General Headquarters, Harlem Heights.) 

October 11, 1776. — " [Benjamin] Talmadge, esqr. , isappointed brigade major to Gen- 
eral Wadsworth." (Orders, General Headquarters, Harlem Heights.) 

October 17, 1776. — "Daniel Lyman, esqr., is appointed major of brigade to General 
Fellows." (Orders, General Headquarters, Harlem Heights.) 

Octoher 21, 1776. 

» Hesolved. . . . That the rations allowed to the several officers 
on the stall: in the Army of the United States, not heretofore settled, 
be as follows: . 

To the . , . deput}^ adjutant-general, (> rations, . . . 

October 26, 1776. — "Capt. Ebenezer Huntington is to assist the Adjutant-General 
in regulating the duties and details of General Heath's division till further orders." 
(Order.'<, General Headquarters, White Plains.) 

October 29, 1776. — Alexander Scannnell, esqr., appointed assistant to the adjutant- 
general for General Lee's division. (Orders, General Headquarters, White Plains.) 

Mvetnher 19. 1776. 

Rexolved., [that weekly returns of all rations issued or paid l)e made 
by the Commissary-General or his deputies] to the Adjutant-General 
or his deputies, to be by him inserted in the general returns of the 
Army, and transmitted to Congress monthly. 

January 13, 1777. — "Till an Adjutant-General is appointed the duty of that office 
will be discharged by Cttlonel Weedon, who is obliging enough to undertake it pro 
temi)ore." (Orders, General Headquw'ters, Morrisloim.) 

January 17, 1777. — " Lieut, Isaac Budd Dunn isai)])ointed brigade major to Geneial 
St. Clair." (Orders, General Headquarters, Murristuim.) 



THE ADJUTANT-GENEEAl's DEPARTMENT. 57 

February W, 1777. 

Hcmlvcd, That the President write to General Gates ana inform him 
it is the earnest desire of Cong'ress that he should resume the office of 
Adjutant-General, and that his present rank and pay shall be (■ontinued 
to him. 

Felruary 2^, 1777. 

Resolved^ That Thomas BuUit, esq., deputy adjutant-o-eneral, \\\\\q. 
the rank of a colonel in the Continental establishment. 

March 1, 1777. — "Isaac Budd Dunn, esqr., will do the duty of Adjutant-General pro 
tempore, and to be attended tu accordingly." {Orders, General Hcudquarlers, Mor- 
ristown. ) 

March 26, 1777. 

Ordered., That the President acquaint General Washington that 
Congress expect the office of Adjutant-General to be tilled by a speedy 
appointment of a person of abilities and unsuspected attachment to 
these United States, and recommend Colonel William Lee to his con- 
sideration for this purpose. 

April ^, 1777. 

Hesolved, . . . That the Adjutant-General be ordered to send 
monthly to the Board of War a copy of the abstracts [of all the musters, 
regimentally digested, and of the rations drawn or retained by the 
several regiments] which he received from the commissary -general of 
musters, together with an abstract of the returns of the Army. 

April 9, 1777. — "Major Dunn being obliged to attend Major-General St. Clair to 
Philadelphia, to which place he is called by Congress, Lieut. Colonel Connor will 
be obliging enough to discharge the duty of Adjutant-General pro tempore." 
{Orders, General Headquarters, Morristown.) 

April 11, 1777. 

Remlved, . . . That the pay of brigade majors in the Conti- 
nental Aruw be raised to 50 dollars a month. 

April 19, 1777. 

Re.Hohied., . . . That General Gates be empowered to appoint a 
deputy adjutant-general for the Northern Department. 

April 19, 1777. — Deputy Adjutant-General Trumbull's resignation was accepted. 

May 11, 7777.— "Benjamin Day, esqr., is appointed brigade major to General Wood- 
ford, and Sanuiel Shaw, esqr., is appointed l)rigade major to Brigadier-General 
Knox." (Orders, General Headquarters, Morristovn.) 

Maij 13, 1777. — "William Johnson, esqr., formerly brigade major to General Lewis, 
is ajjpointcd to that duty in Brigadier-General Scott's Brigade." {Orders, General 
Headquarters, Murrisluwn.) 

May Ik, 1777. 

Resolved J . . . [A major-general and a brigadier-general not hav- 
ing the command of a separate department shall each be allowed forage 
for six horses foi- themselves,] their . . . brigade majors . . . 
* * * 



58 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

The Commander in Chief and the commander of any separate depart- 
ment shall be authorized to allow such quantities of forag-e, and for 
and during- such times, as they shall think proper, . . . to the 
Adjutant-Genei-al and his deputies, . . . : l^rovided (ihoai/s. That 
if any of the officers above mentioned, their deputies or assistants, 
should ])e allowed forage in consequence of any general orders here- 
after given, and should nevertheless not keep any or so many horses 
as they would be permitted to draw forage for, in such case no forage 
shall be issued for more horses than they really have, nor shall they 
at any time thereafter be allowed any forage, or back allowance, or 
an}" money in lieu thereof. 

May 16, 1777. — "Francis Swain, esqr., is appointed brigade major to Brigadier- 
General Muhlenberg." {Orders, Gmeral Headquarter !<, Morrhtown.) 

May 19, 1777. — "Thomas Mullens, esqr., is appointed brigade major to Brigadier- 
General De IBorre." {Orders, General Headquarters, Morristown.) 

Maip?0, 1777. — "Valentine Peers, esqr., is appointed brigade major to Brigadier- 
General Weedon." {Orders, General Headquarters, Morristoum.) 

May 21, 1777. — "Michael Ryan, esqr. (late brigade major to the garrison of Tieon- 
derog'a and Fort Independence), is appointed to that duty in Brigadier-General 
Wayne's Brigade." {Orders, General Headquarters, Monistown.) 

May 26, 1777. — "Peter Tarling, esqr., is appointed brigade major to Brigadier- 
General Conway." {Orders, General Headquarters, Morristown.) 

May ^7, 1777. 

Resolved, That if General Gates, before General Schuyler's arrival 
at Albany, shall have appointed a deputy adjutant-general, . . . 
for the Northern army, the said appointments l)e contirmed; if not, 
that General Schuyler'be empowered to make these appointments. 

May 29, 1777. — "Major Ryan, who has done the duty of the Adjutant-General for 
some days past, is now excused from that service." {Orders, General Headquarters, 
Middle Brook.) 

June 2, 1777. — "Until the arrival of Brigadier De Haas, the eldest officer in his 
brigade is to take the command, and John Harper, esqr., is appointed to the duty 
of brigade major in that brigade till further orders." ( Orders, General Headquarters, 
Middle Brook. ) 

June 10. 1777. 

Resolved, . . . XXXIV. That no returns of rations drawn or 
returned by the several regiments be hereafter made by the . . . 
commissary-general of musters ... to the Adjutant-General, or 
by the Adjutant-General to the board of war, as directed in the regu- 
lations of the muster master general's department, passed by Congress 
the 4th day of April last. 

June 18, 1777. — "Timothy Pickering, esqr., is appointed Adjutant-General to the 
Continental Army. . . . The General begs Col. Connor to accept his thanks for 
his obliging and punctual discharge of the office for the time he has acted as such." 
{Orders, Genend Headqiutrfers, Middle Brook.) 

July 13, 2777.— "Thomas Fosdick, esqr., was on the first instant appointed brigade 
major to Brigadier-(7eneral Glover." 

Roger Alden, esqr., is appointed brigade major to Brigadier-General Huntington." 
{Orders, General Headquarters, Pompton Plains. ) 

July 17, 1777. 

Resolved, That General Spencer be informed, in answer to his letter 
of the 20th of May, that Congress confirm the appointment by him of 
William Peck, esq., deputy adjutant-general to the militia and State 
troops of Rhode Island, kept in Continental pay. 



THE adjutant-general's DEPARTMENT. 59 

Aiigmt 2S, 1777. — "Joseph Scott, esqr., is appointed l)rigade major to General 
Muhlenlierp, in the room of Major Swaine, resigned." {Orders, General Headquar- 
ters, Wihiiiiigto)!.) 

Sejitembcr ;?, 1777. — "Mathew Smith, esqr., is appointed deputy adjutant-general 
in the Continental Army." [Orders, (reneral Headquarters, Wilmington.) 

Octobers, 1777. — "Lewis Fleury, esqr., is appointed brigade major to the Count 
Pulaski, brigadier-general of the Light Dragoons." 

"Thomas Mullens, esqr., is to act as brigade major to General Conway till further 
orders." {Orders, General Headq^iarters cd Wentz's, Worcester 7 oinis}iip.) 

October 6, 1777. — "Thomas Mullens, esqr., ajipointed the 3rd instant to act as 
brigade major to General Conway, is now, for his gallant behavior on the 4th instant, 
appointed brigade major to General Co^nway." {Orders, General Headquarters, 
Perkioing. ) 

October 11, 1777. — " Capt. Paul Parker, of Colonel Hartley's regiment, i.s appointed 
to do the duty of brigade major in General Wayne's brigade till further orders." 
{Orders, General Headquarters, Tovamensing.) 

October 14, 1777. — "Lyman Hitchcock, esqr., is appointed to do the duty of brigade 
major in the 2nd Maryland Brigade, late De Borre's." 

"Mr. John Lawson, adjutant to the Prince AVilliam Militia, is appointed to do the 
duty of l)rigade major in the brigade of militia under the command of Colonel 
Crawford." 

"Richard Emory, esq., is appointed to do the duty of brigade major in the First 
Maryland Brigade." {Orders, General Headquarters, Towamensing.) 

October 26, 1777. — "Captain Thomas Patterson, of Col. Dayton's regiment, is ap- 
pointed brigade major (pro tempore) for General Maxwell's brigade." {Orders, Gen- 
ercd Headquarters, ]V hit pain.) 

October 20, 1777. — "Capt. McGowen is appointed to do the duty of brigade major 
in the brigade, late De Haas's." {Orders, General Headquarters, Whitpaia Tovmsliip.) 

Norendier 6, 1777. — Colonel James Wilkinson, Adjutant-General of Northern Army, 
being strongly recommended by General Gates as a "gallant officer and a promising 
miHtary genius," was, in consideration of his services in that department, given the 
brevet of brigadier-general. 

Xorei/tber 18, 1777. — "Richard Claiborne, esq., is appointed brigade major to Gen- 
eral Weedon's brigade." {Orders, General Headquarters, White MarsJi.) 

December 26, 1777. — Henry McCormick, esq., appointed brigade major to the 
Pennsylvania brigade. ( Orders, General Hdqrs. ) No place given. 

.J(tnv((rg 2, 1778. — Adjutant Marvin, appointed brigade major pro tem. to Gen. 
Varnum's brigade. {Orders, General Headc/uarters.) No place given. 

January o, 1778. 

Congress proceoded to the election of an adjutant-general in the 
room of Colonel Pickering, who is called to the board of war, and, the 
ballots being taken, Colonel Alexander Scammel was unanimously 
elected. 

Janaarji 8, 1778. — John Berrien, appointed brigade major to the North Carolina 
brigade. {Orders, General Headquarters, Valley Forge.) 

January 12, 1778. — Lieut. Stagg, of Colonel Malcolm's regiment, appointed brigade 
major pro tem. in the brigade late General Conway's. {Orders, General Head- 
quarters, Valley Forge.) 

January IS^ 1778. 

Resolved., . . . That ... a deputy adjutant-general . . . 
be appointed to act pro tempore for the troops aforesaid [from New 
Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, con- 
stantly employed in Rhode Island for the defense of the State and of 
the Providence Plantations]; that the . . . deputy adjutant- 
general . , . be appointed by the officer commanding at the post 
[Providence]; and that each . . . take the oath of tidelity and 
office. . . . 

Februarg 26, 1778. — Captain Duval and Adjutant Haskell, appointed to act as 
brigade majors in General Mcintosh's and (General Patterson's brigades, respectively, 
1^11 the return of Brigade Majors McClnie and Berrien. {Orders, Genertd Headquar- 
ters, Valley Forge. ) 



60 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFB' OF U. R. ARMY. 

March 22, 1778. — Captain T. Seely, appointed brigade major in the 2nd Penn. 
brigade, \dce Brigade Major McGowan. ( Orders^, General Headquarter, Valley Forge. ) 

March 2'), 1778. — Mr. Fans<ki, adjutant in General Huntington's brigade, appointed 
to duty as brigade major in the absence of Brigade Major Alden. {Orders, Genend 
Headquarter.'^, Valley Forge. ) 

March 29, 1778. — Captain Walker, of Colonel Livingston's regiment, appointed 
brigade major i)ro tem. in General Poor's brigade. {Orders, General Headquarters, 
Valley Forge. ) 

AprU. 14, 1778. — Lieut. McLinney to act as brigade major in the late Conway's 
brigade till Major Stagg returned. 

April 26, 1778. — Elihu Marshall, adjutant 2nd N. Y. Regiment, appointed to act as 
brigade major in Gen. Poor's brigade until further orders. [Orders, General Head- 
quarters, Valley Forge. ) 

May .5, 1778.— ^Aaron Ogden, esqr., appointed Ijrigade major in Gen. Maxwell's 
brigade. {Orders, General Headquarters, Valley Forge.) 

May U, 1778. 

Resolved., That a deputy adjutant-general be appointed for the army 
in the Northern Department under the command of General Gates. 
The ballots being taken, 
Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Troup was elected. 

May 21, 1778. — Mr. Vowles, adjutant 7th Va. Regiment, appointed as brigade 
major in General Woodford's brigade. {Orders, General Headquarters, Valley Forge.) 

May 27, 1778. 

Resolved, That the brigade major be appointed, as heretofore, by 
the Commander in Chief or commander in a separate department, out 
of the captains in the brigade to which he shall l)e appointed. 

* * -x- 

Resolved, That in addition to their pay in the line there be allowed 
to ... a brigade major 24 dollars. 

Resolved, . . . The present . . . brigade majors to receive 
their present pay and rations. 

Resolved, That . . . brigade majors . . . shall hold their 
present ranks, and be admissible into the line again in the same rank 
they held when taken from the line; provided, that no . . . ))ri- 
gade major . . . shall have the command of any officers who 
commanded him while in the line. 

Resolved, That whenever the Adjutant-General shall be appointed 
from the line he may continue to hold his rank and commission in 
the line. 

Jane 2, 1778. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a deputy adjutant-general in 
the Northern Department in the room of Lieutenant-Colonel Troup, 
who declines and whose commission is returned by General Gates; 
and the ballots ])eing taken, 

William Malcolm was elected. 

June 14, 1778. — "On the march Lieut. Colonel Fleury will be attached to General 
Lee's division; Lieut. Colonel Davies to General Stirling's; Lieut. Colonel Barber to 
General Mitiiin's; Major Ternant to General de La Fayette's; Lieut. Colonel Brooks 
to General De Kalb's; and, as they will not be employed on the march in exercising 
or maneuvering the troops, they are to fill the office of adjutant-general, each in his 
respective division." {Orders, General Headquarters, Valley Forge) 

June 15, 1778. — Captain 8nnth, brigade inspector in General Varnum's brigade, 
was also appointed brigade major in tlie same, dcjing duty in both capacities. ( Orders, 
General Headquarters, Valley Forge.) 



THE adjutant-general's DEPARTMENT. 61 

June 19, 1778. 

Resolved., That Colonel Williiim Malcolm, deputy adjutant-general 
in the Army, now under command of Major-General Gates, be per- 
mitted to hold his rank in the Army and his regiment, if the same 
shall ))e kept up in the new arrangement now making. 

Nommher 17, 1778. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a deputy adjutant-general 
. for the troops in the Southern Department; and the ballots 
being taken. 

Captain Edmund Hyrne was elected deput}^ adjutant-general . . . 
for the troops in the Southern Department, they having >)ecn preyi- 
ously nominated by the Delegates of South Carolina. 

Januari/ 8, i775.— "Lieutenant Rot)ertrorterfiel(l, of the 7th Virginia Regiment, is 
to do the duty of brigade major till further orders in General Woodford's brigade, 
Brigade Major Porterfield being absent." {Orders, General Headquarters, Middle 
Brook. ) 

February 18, 1779. 

Re-solred, . . . that the ofBce of l^rigade inspector shall in future 
be annexed to that of major of brigade. 

Mai/ 13, 1779. — -"Major Cabell is appointed l^rigade major and inspector to Gen- 
eral Muhlenberg's brigade and Major Croghan to General AVoodford's." {Orders, 
General Headquarters, Middle Brook. ) 

May 17, 1779. 

Resolved, That the Adjutant-General of the Army of the United 
States be allowed the same rations as a brigadier-general. 

That he be permitted to engage two assistants and one clerk, the 
assistants to be taken from the line, and both they and the clerk to be 
approved of l)y the Commander in Chief. 

That each assistant l)e allowed such an addition to his appointments 
as an officer of the line as shall make the same equal to those of a 
lieutenant-colonel. 

That the clerk be taken from the subalterns or volunteers in the 
Army, and allowed pay and subsistence equal in the whole to those of 
a captain. 

May 24, 177!). — "Capt. Nicholas Gilman, of the 3rd New Hampshire Regiment, 
from the 15th of January, 1778, and Capt. John Singer Dexter, of the 1st Rhode 
Island Regiment, from the 1st of May following, are appointed assistants to the 
Adjutant-General." {Orders, General Headquarters, Middle Brook.) 

.Iniie 12, 1779. — "Capt. Alexander, entitled to a majority, is appointed brigade 
major to the 1st, and Capt. Moore, also entitled to a majority, is appointed brigade 
major to the 2nd Pennsylvania brigades." {Orders, General Headquarters, S)nitli's 
Tarerti. ) 

.Tune 16, 1779. — "Major Archibald Anderson is appointed brigade major to the 1st 
Marjdand Brigade." {Orders, General Headquarters, Sinifli's Tavern.) 

June 21, 1779. — " (^ol. Davies, as eldest subinspector, will do the duty of Adjutant- 
General during said time" [temporary absence of the Adjutant-General with the 
Commander in Chief]. {Orders, Genend Headquarters, Smith's Tavern.) 



62 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENEKAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

June ^^, 1779. 

Resolved^ That majors, in consideration of their extra duty, acting 
as . . . majors of brigade, receive |4-i per month, in addition to 
their regimental pay. 

* * * 

Resolved, That the Adjutant-General, for the time being, })o also 
assistant inspector-general. 

June 24, i775.—" Capt. Henry Hardman, of the 7th Maryland Regiment, entitled to 
a majority, isappointed brigade major to the 2nd Maryland Brigade." {Orders, Gen- 
eral Headquarters, New Windsor. ) 

July 1, i775.— "Henry McConnick, esq., late brigade major to the 1st Penna. 
Brigade is appointed to do the duties of brigade major and brigade mspector to the 
light corps under Brig. General Wayne." {Orders, General Headquarters, New 
Windsor. ) 

July 8, 1779. — "Major Oliver, of the Massachusetts line, is appointed major of 
brigade to Gen'l Nixon's Brigade." {Orders, General Headquarters, Neiv Windsor.) 

July 13, 1779. — "Capt. Selman, of the 4th Maryland Regiment, is appointed to the 
duty of brigade major in the 2nd Maryland Brigade till further orders, vice Capt. 
Hardman, who declines that duty at present." {Orders, General Headquarters, Neiv 
Windsor.) 

July 25, 1779. — "Lt. Col. Brooks, a subinspector in the Army, is to be considered 
as deputy adjutant-general in the garrison at West Point and its dependencies." 

"Major Andrew Peters, of Col. Bailey's regiment, is appointed brigade major, 
etc., in the 4th Massachusetts (commonly called Late Learned' s) Brigade." ( Orders, 
General Headquarters, Moore^s House. ) 

July 31, 1779.— "John Davidson, esq., of the 2nd Maryland Regiment, and eldest 
capt. 'in the Maryland Brigade is appointed brigade major to the same till further 
orders, vice Cai^t. Selman, whose ill state of health prevents his doing that duty." 
{Orders, General Headquarters, Moore^ s House.) 

August 2, i775.— "Capt. John Doughty, of the Corps of Artillery, is appointed 
brigade major to the same till further orders." ( Orders, General Headquarters, Moore's 
House. ) 

November 5, i775.— "Major Scott, of the New Hampshire line, isappointed brigade 
major to Gen'l Poor's Brigade." ( Orders, General Headquarters, Moore's House. ) 

December 24, i775.— "Major Church, of the 4th Pennsylvania Reg't, isappointed 
brigade major and inspector to Gen'l Hand's Brigade." {Orders, General Headquar- 
ters, Morristoiun. ) 

December 25, 1779.— "The Adjutant-General having leave of absence Col. Williams 
is appointed to perform the duties of the office until his return." {Orders, General 
Headquarters, Morristovm. ) 

January 1, i7<5'0.— " Capt. Brice, of the 3rd Maryland Regiment, is appointedbrigade 
major and brigade inspector of the 1st Maryland Brigade till further orders." 
( Orders, General Headquarters, Morristown. ) 

Ajyril 11, 1780. — "Colonel Scammell, having returned, will resume the duties of hia 
office. The Commander in Chief requests Col. Williams to accept his thanks for the 
attention, assiduity, and propriety with which he has conducted the office in the 
absence of Col. Scammell." {Orders, General Headquarters, Morristown.) 

June U, 1780. 

Resolved, . . . That Major-General Gates be, and he is hereby, 
authorized to appoint a deputy adjutant-general . . . [for the 
Southern army]. 

Juhj 12, i7<90.— "Capt. McGowan is to do the duty of brigade major in Gen'l 
Hand's Brigade till Lieutenant-Colonel Conunand't Butler's health permits him to 
join his regiment." {Orders, General Headquarters, Pracaness.) 

July 15, 1780. 

ResoUed, That the following proportion of wagons and bathorses 
be allowed to the different ranks of officers, and no more, unless it be 



THE ADJUTANT-GENERAL S DEPARTMENT. 68 

by order of the Commander in Chief or commanding officer of a sepa- 
rate army, each of whom to be allowed for themselves so many bag- 
gage wagons and bathorses as they may think necessary, to-wit: 

* * * 

Adjutant-General and assistants , . . 1 covered 4-horse wagon. 
Deputy adjutant-general with a separate army ... 1 2-hoise 

wagon. 

* * * 

Resolved, That in addition to the forage allowed for the wagon anf^ 
bathorses b}" these regulations, there be issued ... as many 
rations as the service shall require. 

. Adjutant-General and his family, including what he may 
draw in the line, seven deput}- adjutants-general for a separate army, 
three including what ho may draw in the line . 

July ^(9, 1750.— "Captain Ogden of the Jersey Brigade in appointed to do the duty 
of brigade major in the same until the return of Major Ross." [Orders, General Head- 
quarters, Praranesif. ) 

iSeptcmher 16, 17S0. — " Major James Moore is appointed brigade major ... to 
the 1st Pennsylvania Brigade from the 21st of July last." [Orders, General Head- 
quarters, Steenrajna. ) 

September m, 1780. 

Resolved, . . . There shall be one assistant inspector-general 
with the main army, who shall be adjutant-general for the time being, 
and shall receive in addition to his pay $10 per month; and one to 
every separate army, when consisting of two or more divisions, who 
shall 1)e the deputy adjutant-general, and shall receive in addition to 
his pay $8 per month. 

* * -x- 

The assistant inspectors-general shall assist in the general duties of 
the department . . . and they shall nevertheless continue to per- 
form their duties of adjutant and deputy adjutant-general. 

The inspectors shall attend to the execution of the regulations estab- 
lished for the Army in their respective divisions ... at all times 
performing the dutv of adjutant-general to the same; and when a 
detachment of more than one division is sent from the Army the eldest 
inspector of the marching troops shall act as adjutant-general to the 
detachment. 

The subinspectors shall do the dut}' of majors of brigade to the 
brigades to which the}' belong . 

Noreinher 11, 17Sn. — " Captain Converse is to do the duty of brigade major . . . 
to the 2d Connecticut Brigade in the absence of Major Wood bridge." [Orders, Gen- 
eral Headquarters, Fotoim.) 

November 28, 1780. 

Ordered., That . . ., the Adjutant-General, ... be sup- 
plied with the journals of Congress. 

Decemher .^, 1780. 

Resolved, That instead of the additional pay allowed to officers in 
the inspector's department by the resolution of Congress of the 25th 
of September last, the following sums be allowed, viz: 

To the Adjutant -General, as assistant inspector, 35 dollars per 
month. 



64 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. 8. ARMY, 

January fV, 1781. 

Congress proceeded to the election of Adjutant-General, and, the 
ballots being- taken, 

Brigadier-General Hand was elected. 

January 1'2, 1781. 

Rei^olred., That the additional pay of . . . brigade majors, . . . 
agreea))ly to the act of 27th May, 1778, be considered as tixed in specie; 
and that the same, from and after the 18th day of August last, be 
drawn in bills of the new emission. 

July 14, 1781. — "Captain Robert Peniberton [in] appointed assistant adjutant- 
general, vice Dexter, promoted, and joined his regiment." {Orders, General Head- 
quarters near Dobbs Ferri/. ) 

August 19, 1781. — "Lieut. Col. Grosvenor is appointed to the duty of deputy 
adjutant-general of the troops placed under the immediate command of Major- 
General Heath." {Orders, Qeneral JJendipuirfers vear Dobbs Ferry.) 

October ,?, 1781. — "Capt. John Carlisle, of Genl. Hazen's regt., is appointed an 
assistant to the Adjutant-General." {Orders, General Headquarters before York.) 



June 28, 178 



ReHolved, That so much of the resolution of Congress of the 27th 
day of May, 1778, as relates to additional pay given to captains . . , 
acting as . . . brigade majors be, and is hereby, repealed. 

Mesolved, That there shall be such additional pay and emoluments to 
the pay of captains . . , serving as . . . l)rigade ujajors as 
shall make their pay and emoluments equal to the pay and emoluments 
of a major in the line of the Army. 

Atigiist 1, 1782. f 

Resolved, That the Adjutant-General be appointed by Congress from 
the general officers, colonels, lieutenant-colonels, commandants, or 
lieutenant-colonels in the Army; his pay shall be 125 dollars per montii; 
he shall receive four rations per day, and 25^ dollars per month sub- 
sistence. The Adjutant-General shall also be allowed forage for four 
riding horses, and be furnished with two four-horse and one two-horse 
covered wagons for the transportation of his official papers, his own, 
his assistants', and clerk's l)aggage. He shall have two assistants and 
one clerk, to be appointed by himself, and approved of by the Com- 
mander in Chief. The assistants shall l)e majors or captains in the 
Army. The pay of each shall be 50 dollars per month, one ration and 
a half per day, 8 dollars per month for subsistence, and forage for 
two riding horses. The assistants shall be allowed each Gf dollars per 
month for servant's wages and the clothing and rations allowed to a 
private soldiei*. The clerk shall be a subaltei-n or volunteer in the 
Arm}'; his pay shall be 4() dollars per month; he shall draw one ration 
per day, and receive 6^ dollars per month subsistence. 

That there be as many deputies adjutant-general of the rank of field 
officers as there may be separate armies in the United States that con- 
sist of one or more divisions, to be appointed occasionally by the 
commanding officer of such army, whose name shall be returnixl to 
the Connnander in Chief for his approbation. 



THE adjutant-general's DEPARTMENT. 65 

That the deputy adjutants-general shall each receive 75 dollars per 
month pay, two rations per day, and 12f dollars per month subsistence, 
forage for three riding horses, one four-horse and one two-horse cov^- 
ered wagons, for the transportation of their official papers, their own 
and assistants' baggage. 

The deputy adjutants-general shall each appoint one assistant of the 
rank of major oi- captain, who shall be approved of by the command- 
ing officer under whom they serve. The assistants appointed and 
approved as aforesaid shall each receive the same pay and allowances 
as are given al)ove to an assistant of the Adjutant-General. 

That there he one major of lirigade to each brigade in the armies of 
the United States, whether of cavalry, artillery, or infantry, who shall 
be appointed l)y the Commander in Chief or conmianding officer of a 
separate army as occasion mjiy require, upon the reconmiendation of 
the Adjutant-CTcneral or deputy adjutant-general, as the case may be, 
and they shall each receive the same pay and allowances as is given to 
the assistants of the Adjutant -General l)y the foregoing resolutions. 

That the provisions hereby made for the respective officers afore- 
said shall be in full compensation for their services, and of all pay and 
allowances to which they may l)e entitled from their rank in the Army. 

These regulations shall take eft'ect on the first day of January next, 
and from thenceforth that all acts, resolutions, pay, and appointments 
heretofore made in anywise respecting the Department of Adjutant- 
General and brigade majors shall cease, and are herel)y repealed. 

August 27, 1782. — "The Adjutant-General, having agreed to spare Capt. CarUsle, of 
Hazen's Regt., one of his assistants, to do the duty of brigade major to the corps of 
light infantry, he will immediately enter on that service." {Orders, General Head- 
quarters, Neivburyii. ) 

October %S, 178%. 

Resolved, . . . That the following be the proportion of 
wagons and bathorses to the different ranks of officers: . 

* * * 

Adjutant General, two covered four-horse wagons; for the baggage 
of his assistant, clerks, and official papers, one two-horse wagon. 

* * * 

That there be allowed for saddle horses: 

* * * 

Adjutant-General 4 rations. 

De])uty with a separate army 3 do. 

Each assistant 2 do. 

-X- * -X- 

Nnrember 22, 1782. — "Capt. Jeremiah Fogg, of the 2nd New Hani]>shire Regt., is 
appointed brigade major of the New Hampshire Brigade from the lltli instant, vice 
Capt. Robinson." {Orders, General Headquarters, Newhurgh.) 

Decemher 31, 178%. 

Resolved, That Brigadier-General Hand be, and he is hereby, con- 
tinued in the office of Adjutant-General. 

January 9, 1783. — "Captain Richard Cox, of the 1st Jersey Regiment, is continued 
in the office of major of brigade to the Jersey Brigade; 

"Captain Benjamin Hicks, of the 1st New York Regiment, to the New i'ork 
Brigade; 

S. Doc. 229 5 



66 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

"Captain Nathaniel Gushing, of the 1st Massachusetts Regiment, to the 1st 
Massachusetts Brigade ; 

"Captain Abraham Williams, of tlie 2d Massachusetts Regiment, to the 2d Massa- 
chusetts Brigade ; 

"Captain J. K. Smith, of the 6tli Massachusetts Regiment, to the 3d Massachusetts 
Brigade, and 

"Captain Jeremiah Fogg, of the 2d New Hampshire Regiment, to the (New) 
Hampshire Brigade." {Ordera, General Headquarters, Neirhurgh.) 

January 12, 1783. — " Captain J, Walker, of the 3rd Connecticut Regt., is continued 
in the office of major of brigade to the Connecticut Brigade." {Orders, General 
Headquarters, Newhurgh.. ) 

January 14, 1783. — "Captain John Carlisle, of General Hazen's Regt., is appointed 
asst. adjutant-general, to take place with the new arrangement." {Orders, General 
Headquarters, Newhurgli. ) 

March 1, 1783. — "Captain Aaron Ogden is appointed major of brigade to the Jer- 
sey Brigade, vice Cox promoted January 6th, 1783. ( Orders, General Headquarters, 
Newhurgh.) 

April 8, 1783. — "Captain Simeon Lord (late of the 20ih Massachusetts Regiment) 
is appointed assistant adjutant-general, * * * his appointment to have effect 
from the first day of February last." {Orders, General Headquarters, Newhurgh.) 

Octoher 31, 1783. — Secretary of War reported that the following accepted the com- 
mutation of five years' pay in lieu of half pay for life: Adjutant-General and family, 
Brigadier-General Clinton. 



STATUTES AT LARGE. 

Act of March 3, 1791 {1 Stats. 

AN ACT for raising and adding another regiment to the military establishment of 
the United States and for making further i)rovision for the jirotection of the fron- 
tiers. 

•X- * * 

8ec, 5, That in case the President of the United States should deem 
the employment of a . . . brigadier-general . . . essential 
to the public interest, ... a brigadier-general so appointed may 
choose his brigade major from the captains or subalterns of the 
line. . . . 

Sec. 6. That in case a . . . brigade major . . . should be 
appointed, their pay and allowances shall be, respectively, as herein 
mentioned: . . . That the brigade major be entitled, including 
all allowances, to the same pay, rations, and forage as a major of a 
regiment. 



Act of March 5, 179'3 {1 Stats., 2J^1). 

AN ACT for making further and more effectual provision for the protection of the 
frontiers of the United States. 



Sec. 7. That the monthly pay of the commissioned officers . . . 
on the military establishment of the United States . . . shall be, in 
future, as follows, free of all deductions, to wit: General staff: . . . 
Adjutant, to do also duty of inspector, seventy -live dollars; . 
brigade major, to act also as deputy inspector, in addition to his pay 
in the line, twenty-four dollars. 



THE adjutant-general's DEPARTMENT. 67 

Act of March 3, 1795 {1 Stats., J,J30). 

AN ACT for continuing and regulating the military establishment of the United 
States and for repealing sundry acts heretofore passed on that subject. 

* * * 

Sec. 10. That the monthly pay of the officers ... on the mili- 
tary establishment of the United States be as follows, to wit: General 
staff: . , , Adjutant-General, to do also the duty of inspector, 
seventy-live dollars; . . . brigade major to act also as deputy 
inspector, in addition to his pay in the line, twent3^-four dollars. 

* * * 

Sec. 11. That the commissioned officers aforesaid shall be entitled 
to receive for their daily subsistence the following- nimiber of rations 
of provision, to wit: ... A lieutenant-colonel commandant, 
. . . six rations; . . . brigade major, . . . four rations, 
. . . or money in lieu thereof, at the option of the said officers, at 
the contract price, at the posts, respectiveh% where the rations shall 
become due. 

Sec. 12. That the officers hereinafter described shall, whenever 

forage shall not be furnished by the public, receive at the rate of the 

following-enumerated sums, per month, instead thereof, to wit: . . . 

Adjutant-General, . . . twelve dollars; . . . brigade major, 

. . ten dollars. . . . 



Act of May 30, 1796 {1 Statx., 1^83). 
AN ACT to ascertain and fix the military establishment of the United States. 



Sec. 3. That there shall be . . . one brigadier-general, who 
ma}'^ choose his brigade major from the captains or subalterns of the 
line; which brigade major shall receive the monthly pay of twenty-four 
dollars in addition to his pay in the line, be entitled to four rations 
of provisions for his daily subsistence, and whenever forage shall not 
be furnished by the public to ten dollars per month in lieu thereof; 
. . . one inspector,' who shall do the duty of Adjutant-General, 



Sec. 23. That the general staff, as authorized by this act, shall con- 
tinue in service until the fourth day of next March, and no longer. 

Act of March 3, 1797 {1 Stats., 507). 

AN ACT to amend and repeal in part the act intituled "An act to ascertain and fix 
the military establishment of the United States." 



Sec. 2. That there shall be one brigadier- general, who may choose 
his brigade major . . . from the captains and subalterns in the 

^ The Inspector-General acting as Adjutant-General is entitled under this act to 
$25 in addition to his pay in the line, six rations per day, and $12 per month for 
forage. 



68 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

line (to . . . whom there shall be allowed the monthly pay of 
twenty -hve dollars in addition to his pay in the line and two rations 
extraordinary per day, and whenever forage shall not be furnished 
by the public to ten dollars per month in lieu thereof). 



Act of May 2'2, 1798 {1 StaU., 557). 

AN ACT to amend tlie act intituled "An act to amend and repeal in part the act 
entitled 'An act to ascertain and tix the militarv establishment of the United 
States.' " 

Sec. 1. That the l)rio-adier-general who is now, or may hereafter 
be, in the service of the United States be, and lie hereby is, authorized 
to choose his brigade major . , . from the commissioned officers 
in the line of the Army; and that so nuich of the second section of the 
act intituled "An act to amend and repeal in part the act entitled 'An 
act to ascertain and fix the military establishment of the United States'' " 
as confines the choice of brigade major ... to the captains and 
subalterns of the line be, and the same is hereby, repealed. 



Aet of May 28, 1798 {1 Stats., 558). 
AN ACT authorizing the President of tlie United States to raise a provisional army. 



Sec. 6. That whenever the President shall deem it expedient he is 
hereby empowered, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
to appoint ... an Adjutant-General, who shall have the rank, paj^^, 
and emoluments of a brigadier-general; . . . and the President is 
hereby authorized alone to appoint from time to time, when he shall 
judge proper, assistant inspectors to every separate portion of the 
Army, consisting of one or more divisions, who shall be deputy 
adjutant-generals thereof, respectively, and who shall be taken from 
the line of the Army, and allowed in addition to their pay eight dollars 
per month; . 

Sec. 7. . . . Provided, That in case the President shall judge 
it expedient to appoint ... an Adjutant-General ... in 
the recess of the Senate, he is hereby authorized to make . 
said appointments and grant commissions thereon which shall expire 
at the end of the next session of the Senate thereafter. 
* * * 

Sec. 9. That the . . . Adjutant-General . . . who may ))c 
appointed by virtue of this act shall . . . continue in commission 
during such term onl}^ as the President shall judge requisite for the 
public service. 

Sec. 10. That no . . . staff officer who shall be appointed by 
virtue of this act shall be entitled to receive pay or emoluments until 
he shall be called into actual service, nor for any longer time than he 
shall continue therein. 



THE adjutant-general's DEPARTMENT. 69 

Act of July 16, 1798 (1 Stat.s., 604). 

AN ACT to augment the Army of the United iStaten, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. That there shall be . . . one Adjutant-General, with 
one or more assistant or assistants (to be taken from the line of the 
Army), ... 

8ec. 4. . . . The Adjutant-General shall be entitled to the rank, 
pa}', and emoluments of a brig-adier-general. . 

* * * 

Act of March 5, 1799 {1 Stafs., 749). 

AN ACT foi- the ])etter organizing of the troops of the United States, and for other 

purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. B. That when any officer shall be detached from a regiment to 
serve ... as an assistant to the Adjutant-General, by whatsoever 
name, the place of such officer in his regiment shall be supplied by 
promotion or new appointment, or both, as may be requisite; but the 
officer detached shall, nevertheless, retain his station in his regiment, 
and shall rank and rise therein in the same manner as if he had not 
been detached. 

Sec. 7. That no officer shall be appointed ... as an assistant 
to the Adjutant-General who when appointed shall be of a raidv higher 
than that of captain. 

* * * 

Sec. 14-. That the Adjutant-General of the Arm}' shall be ex- officio 
jvssistant inspector-general, and that every deputy inspector-general 
shall be ex officio deputy adjutant-general, and shall perform the duties 
of adjutant-general in the army to which he shall be annexed. 



Act of April m, 1800 {2 Statf^., 38). 

AN ACT to fix the compensation of the Paymaster-General and assistant to the 

Adjutant-General. 

* * * 

Sec. 2. That the pay of the assistant of the Adjutant-General, in 
addition to his pay and other emoluments in the line of the Army, 
shall be forty dollars per month, which shall be in full compensation 
for his extra services and travelling expenses, to be computed from 
the time of his entering upon actual service. 

. Act of March 16, 1802 {2 Stats., 132). 

AN ACT to fix the military peace establishment of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 8. That there shall be . . . one adjutant and inspector of 
the Armv.^ to be taken from the line of field officers. . . . 



Under this act the oliices of Atljutant-General and Inspector-General were united. 



70 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Sec. 4. That the monthly pay of the officers . . . be as follows, 
to wit: ... To the adjutant and inspector of the Arnn% thirt}'- 
eight dollars in addition to his pay in the line. 

Sec. 5. That the commissioned officers aforesaid shall be entitled to 
receive for their daily subsistence the following number of rations of 
provisions: A colonel, six rations; a lieutenant-colonel, five rations; 
a major, four rations, ... or money in lieu thereof at the option 
of the said officers ... at the posts respectively when the rations 
shall become due; and if at such posts supplies are not furnished by 
contract, then such allowance as shall be deemed equitable, having 
reference to former contracts and the position of the place in ques- 
tion; . . . and to every commissioned officer who shall keep one 
servant, not a soldier of the line, one additional ration. 



Act of April 12, 1808 {2 Stats., 481). 
AN ACT to raise for a limited time an additional military force. 



Sec. 8. That in the recess of the Senate the President of the United 
States is hereby authorized to appoint all or any of the officers, other 
than the general officers, proper to be appointed under this act, which 
appointments shall be submitted to the Senate, at the next session, for 
their advice and consent. 

Sec. 9. That every . . . staft' officer to be appointed in virtue 
of this act shall be a citizen of the United States or some one of the 
Territories thereof. 

• Act of January 11, 1812 {2 Stats., 671). 

AN ACT to raise an additional military force. 

* * * 

Sec. 4. That there shall be appointed . . . five brigadier-gen- 
erals, each of whom shall be allowed a brigade major, ... to be 
taken from the captains and subalterns of the line; and there shall 
also be appointed one Adjutant-General, . . . with the rank, pay, 
and emoluments of a brigadier-general. The said Adjutant-General 
shall be allowed one or more assistants, not exceeding three, to be 
taken from the line of the Army, with the same pay and emoluments 
as by this act are allowed to a lieutenant-colonel. . . . 

Sec. .5. That when an officer is detached to serve ... as an 
assistant to the Adjutant-General ... on the appointment of a 
general officer ... he shall not thereby lose his I'ank. 

Sec. <). . . , The brigadier-generals, respectively, shall be 
entitled to one hundred and four dollars monthl}' pay, twelve rations 
per day, and sixteen dollars per month for forage when not fQ.und by 
the public. 

* -X- * 

Sec. 25. That no . . . stafi^ officer who may be appointed by 
virtue of this act shall be entitled to receive any pay or emoluments 
until he shall be called into actual service, nor for any longer time 
than he shall continue therein. 



THE adjutant-general's DEPARTMENT. 7l 

Act of Mai/ 16, mm (^ Stats., 735). 

AN ACT making further provisions for the Army of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. ■^. That each brigade major provided b}^ law shall be allowed 
twenty-four dollars per month, in addition to his pa}^ in the line. 

* * * 

Act of July 6, 1812 {2 Stats., 782). 

AN ACT respecting tlie pay of the Army of the Unilfil States. 

That ... to the brigade majors, under the act passed January 
the eleventh, one thousand eight hundred and twelve, there-shall be 
allowed for forage for one horse, or in lieu thereof ten dollars per 
month. . . . 

Act of July 6, 1812 {2 Stats., 784). 

AN ACT making further provisions for the Army of the United States, and for other 

purposes. 

[Authorizes the President to appoint two additional brigadier-gen- 
erals] Avho shall each be entitled to the same number of . . . brigade 
majors as are allowed to a brigadier-general under the act of Congress 
passed the eleventh of January, one thousand eight hundred and 
twelve. And the said . . . brigade majors shall be entitled to 
receive the same pay and emoluments as are by law allowed to officers 
of the same grade. 

Sec. 2. That to any army of the United States, other than that in 
which the Adjutant-General . . . shall serve, it shall bo lawful for 
tho President to appoint one deputy adjutant-general, . . . who 
shall be taken from the line of the Army, and who shall each, in addi- 
tion to his pay and other emoluments, be entitled to fifty dollars per 
month, which shall be in uU compensation for his extra services. And 
that there shall be to each of the foregoing deputies such number of 
assistant deputies (not exceeding three to each department) as the pub- 
lic service may require, who shall, in like manner, be taken from the 
line, and who shall each be entitled to thirty dollars per month, in 
addition to his pay and other emolaments, which shall ))e in full com- 
pensation for his extra services: And 2yrovid<'d a/so. That the Presi- 
dent of the United States be, and he is hereby, authorized to appoint 
any of the officers named in this act during the recess of the Senate, to 
be submitted to the Senate at their next meeting, for their advice and 
consent. 

Skc. 3. That all letters and packages to and from the Adjutant-Gen- 
eral . . . shall be free from postage. 

* * * 

Act of February 2 4, 1813 [2 Stats., 801). 
AN ACT making provision for an additional number of general officers. 

That the President be, and he is hereby, authorized to appoint 
, . . six brigadier-generals, who shall be allowed a brigade major 
. . . , to be taken also from the officers of the line. 

Sec. 2. That the officers aitthorizcd by this act shall receive the 
same pay, forage, rations, and other emoluments as the officers of the 
same grade of the present military establishment. 



72 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Act of March 3, 1813 {2 Stats., 819). 

AN ACT for the better organization of the general staff of the Army of the United 

States. 

That the Adjutant-General's . . . departments shall consist of 
the following officers: That is to say, an Adjutant and Inspector Gen- 
eral, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of a brigadicr-g-eneral, and 
not exceeding eight adjutants-general, sixteen assistant adjutants- 
general, 

Sec. 2. That the President of the United States be, and is hereb}^, 
authorized, if he shall deem it expedient, to assign one of the briga- 
diers-general to the principal Army of the United States, who shall in 
such case act as Adjutant and Inspector (general and as chief of the 
staff of such Army. ... 

Sec. 3. That all the other adjutants-general shall have the brevet 
rank and the pay and emoluments ol a colonel of cavalry. 
The assistant adjutants-general . . . shall have the brevet rank 
and the pay and emoluments of a major of cavalry. 

Sec. 4. That the assistant adjutants-general . . . shall be taken 
from line. The adjutants-general . . . may be taken from the 
line or not, as the President may deem expedient. 

* -X- -X- 

Sec. 11. That all letters and packets to and from the adjutant and 
inspector general, adjutants-general, , . . which relate to their 
official duties, shall be free from postage. 

May 17, 1815. . . . And the President of the United States has further judged 
proper, that, in addition to the provision for a general staff, which is speeifieallj- 
made by the act of Congress, certain officers shall be retained, under the special 
authority given by the act, until circumstances will permit of their discharge, with- 
out material injury to the service; and that the following shall be the 

GENERAL STAFF. 

* * * 

One adjutant and inspector general and two adjutant-generals, to be provisionally 

retained. 

* * * 

{General Orders, A. and I. G.'s Office.) 

Act of April U, 1816 {3 Stats., 297). 

AN ACT for organizing the general staff, and making further provisions for the Army 

of the United States. 

That in addition to the act providing for a military peace establish- 
ment, the provisions of the act of March the third, one thousand eight 
hundred and thirteen, for the better organization of the general staff', 
be, and the same are hereby, so far as established, that the general 
staff' shall in future consist of one adjutant and inspector general of 
the Army and one adjutant-general. 



Act of March ?., 18M {3 Stats.. 615). 

AN ACT to reduce and fix tlie military peace establishment of tiie United States. 
-X -x- * 

Sec. 5. That there shall be one major-general, with two aids de-camp, 
two brigadier-generals, each with one aid-de-camp; and that the aids- 



THE adjutant-general's DEPARTMENT 73 

de-camp be taken from the subalterns of the line, and, in addition to 
their other duties, shall perform the duties of assistant adjutant- 
general. 

Sec. 6. That there shall be one adjutant-general, . . . with the 
rank, pay, and emoluments of colonels of cavalry. 

* * * 

Act of March ^, 1827 U Stats., 238). 

AN ACT amendatory of the act i-egulating the Post-Office Department. 

* -x- * 

Sec. 4. That . , . the Adjutant-General, . . . be author- 
ized to frank, and to receive letters and packets by post free of post- 
age. . . . 



Act of July 5, 1838 {5 Stats., 256). 

AN ACT to increase the present niihtary estal)Ushment of the United States, and for 

other purposes. 
* * * 

Sec. 7. That the President of the United States shall be, and he is 
hereby, authorized to appoint so many assistant adjutants-general, not 
exceeding two, with the brevet rank, pa}^ and emoluments of a major, 
and not exceeding four, with the brevet rank, pay, and emoluments of 
a captain of cavalry, as he may deem necessary; and that they shall 
be taken from the line of the Army, and in addition to their own, per- 
form the duties of assistant inspectors-general when the circumstances 
of the service luay require. 

Sec. 8. That the officers to be taken from the line and transferred 
to the staff, under the last preceding section, shall receive only the pay 
and emoluments attached to their rank in the staff', but their transfer 
shall be without prejudice to their rank and promotion in the line, 
according to their said rank and seniority; which promotion shall take 
place according to usage, and in the same manner as if they hud not 
thus been transferred. 



Act of March 3, 1839 {5 Stats., 

AN ACT to amend an act entitled "An act regulating the pay and emohiments of 
brevet officers," passed April 16, 1818. 

That from and after the passing of this act the act entitled "An 
act regulating the pay and emoluments of brevet officers," approved 
April sixteenth, eighteen hundred and eighteen, be, and the same shall 
be, so construed as to include the case of the Adjutant-General of the 
United States. 

Act of June 18, 181^6 {9 Stats., 17). 

AN ACT supplemental to an act entitled "An act to provide for the prosecution of 
the existing war between the United States and the Republic of Mexico," and for 
other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 6. That the President of th(^ United States be, and he hereby 
is, authorized to appoint as many additional assistant adjutant-generals, 



74 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

not exceeding four, as the service may require, who shall be appointed, 
by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, in the same manner, 
have the same brevet rank, pay, and emoluments, and be charged with 
the same duties, as those now authorized by law: Proirided^ That these 
additional appointments shall continue only so long as the exigencies 
of the service may render necessary. 

Act of March 3, 181^7 {9 Stats., 184). 

AN ACT making provision for an additional nnmber of general offices, and for other 

purposes. 



Sec. 2. That there shall be added to the Adjutant-GeneraPs Depart- 
ment one assistant adjutant-general, with the rank, pay, and emoluments 
of a lieutenant-colonel of cavahy, and two assistant adjutants-general, 
with the brevet rank, pay, and emoluments of a captain of cavalry, to 
be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of 
the Senate, in the same manner and be charged with the same duties 
as those authorized b}' existing laws. 

* * * 

Sec. 20. That the provisions of the sixth section of the act entitled 
"An act respecting the organization of the Army," etc., approved 
August twenty-third, one thousand eight hundred and forty-two, 
which allow additional rations to certain officers of the Army, be, and 
the same are hereby, so extended as to embrace the . . . Adjutant- 
General of the Army from the date of the act. 

* * * 

Sec. 22. That all the officers appointed . . . under this act 
shall be discharged at the close of the war with Mexico. . . . 



Act of July 19, 181,8 {9 Stats., U7). 

AN ACT to amend an act entitled "An act supplemental to an act entitled 'An act 
providing for the prosecution of the existing war between the United States and 
the Republic of Mexico,' " and for other purposes. 



Sec. 3. That so much of . . . the act of the third of March, 
eighteen hundred and forty-seven, as requires the discharge at the 
close of the war with Mexico of an assistant adjutant-general, with 
the rank, pay, etc., of a lieutenant-colonel of cavalry, and two assist- 
ant adjutants-general, with the brevet rank, pay, etc., of a captain of 
cavalry, as authorized by the second section of the said act of the 
third of March, eighteen hundred and forty-seven, . . . be, and 
the same is hereby, repealed: Provided, That no vacancy happening 
under the provisions so repealed shall be tilled up until further author- 
ized by law. . . . 



75 

Act of 3 fare h %, 181^9 (9 Stats, 351). 

AN ACT to provide for an increase of the medical staff, and for an additional number 
of chaplains of the Army of the United States. 



Sec. 4. . . . that so much of the proviso to the third section of 
the act approved Juh^ nineteenth, eighteen hundred and forty-eight, 
as rehites to officers of the Adjutant-GeneraFs Department be, and 
the same is hereby, repealed. 



Aet of March 3, 1851 {9 Stats., 595). 

AN ACT to found a military asylum for the relief and support of invalid and disabled 
soldiers of the Army of the United States. 



Sec. 2. That . . . the Adjutant-General shall be, ex officio, 
commissioners of the same. . . . ' 

August 31, 1852 [10-105). Sec. 15. Adjutant-General Roger Jones to be allowed 
the pay, etc., of his commission as Adjutant-General from the date of the reduction 
of the Army in 1821, until March 7, 1825, when he was restored to his rank in the 
staff. 

Act of July 22, 1861 {12 Stats., 268). 

AN ACT to authorize the employment of volunteers to aid in enforcing the laws 
and protecting public property. 



Sec. 3. . . . each division shall have . . . one assistant 
adjutant-general with the rank of major. Each brigade . . . shall have 
. . . one assistant adjutant-general with the rank of captain. . . . 



Act of August 3, 1861 {12 Stats., 287). 

AN ACT providing for the better organization of the military esta])lishment. 



Sec. 2. . . . Thathereafterthe Adjutant-General's Department 
shall consist of the following officers, namely: One adjutant-general, 
with the rank, pay, and emoluments of a ])rigadier-general; one assistant 
adjutant-general, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of a colonel 
of cavalry; two assistant adjutant-generals, with the rank, pay, and 
emoluments each of a lieutenant-colonel of cavalry; four assistant 
adjutant-generals, with the rank, pay, and emoluments each of a major 
of cavalry; and twelve assistant adjutant-generals, with the rank, pay, 
and (Muoluments each of a captain of cavalry; . . . and to be taken 
from the line of the Army, either of the volunteers or Regular Army. 



76 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Act of July 17, 1862 {12 Stats., 59 J^). 

AN AC!T to define the pay and emoluments of certain offit^ers of the Army, and for 

other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 22. That there shall be added to the Adjutant-General's Depart- 
ment by regular promotion of its present officers, one colonel, two 
lieutenant-colonels, and nine majors; and that the grade of captain in 
said department shall thereafter be abolished, and all vacancies occur- 
ring in the grade of major shall be tilled by selections from among the 
captains of the Army. 

Act of July 17, 1862 {12 Stats., 597). 

AN ACT to amend the act calUng forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, 
suppress insurrections, and repel invasions, approved February twenty-eight, sev- 
enteen hundred and ninety-live, and the act amendatory thereof, and for other 
purposes. 

-X- * * 

Sec. 10. That each army corps shall have . . . one assistant 
adjutant-general, . . . who shall l)ear . . . the rank of lieu- 
tenant-colonel, and who shall be assigned from the Army or volunteer 
force by the President. . . . 



March 11, 186Jt. {13 Stats., 20). 

AN ACT to establish a uniform system of ambulances in the armies of the United 

States. 

* * * 

Sec. 11. That it shall be the duty of the commander of the army 
corps to transmit to the Adjutant-General the names and rank of all 
officers and enlisted men detailed for service m the ambulance corps 
of such army corps, stating the organizations from which they may 
have been so detailed; and if such officers and men belong to volunteer 
organizations the Adjutant-General shall thereupon notify the gov- 
ernors of the several States in which such organizations were raised 
of their detail for such service; and it shall be the duty of the com- 
mander of the army corps to report to the Adjutant-General from 
time to time the conduct and behavior of the officers and enlisted men 
of the am])ulance corps, and the Adjutant-General shall forward cop- 
ies of such I'cports, so far as they relate to officers and enlisted men of 
volunteer organizations, to the governors of the States in which such 
organizations were raised. 



Act of July 28, 1866 {H Stats., 332). 

AN ACT to increase and fix the military peace establishment of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 10. That the Adjutant-General's Department of the Army shall 
hereafter consist of the officers now authorized by law, viz: One 
Adjutant-General, with the rank, pa}^, and emoluments of a brigadier- 



THE adjutant-general's DEPARTMENT. 77 

general; two assistant adjutants-general, with the rank, pay, and emol- 
uments of colonels of ca\'alry; four assistant adjutants-general, with 
the rank, pay, and emoluments of lieutenant-colonels of cavalry; and 
thirteen assistant adjutants-general, with the rank, pay, and emolu- 
ments of majors of cavalry. 

* * -X- 

Sec, 23. That the adjutants-general . . . shall hereafter he ap- 
pointed by selection from the corps to which the}^ belong. 



Act of March ,^, 1<S69 {15 StaU., 315). 

AN ACT making appropriations for tlie support of the Army for the year ending 
June thirtietii, eighteen hundred and t^eventy, and for other purposes. 

•X- x- -X- 

Sec. 6. That until otherwise directed l)y law there shall l)e no new 
appointments and no promotions in the Adjutant-Generars Depart- 
ment. 



Resolution of April 10^ 1S69 {16 Static. ^ 53). 

JOINT RESOLUTION concerning vacancies in the Adjutant-General's Department. 

That the vacancies existing in the Adjutant-General's Department 
at the time of the passage of the act approved March third, eighteen 
hundred and sixty-nine, "making appropriations for the support of 
the Army for the year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and 
seventy, and for other purposes," be, and the same is hereby, exempted 
from the operation of said act. 

June 10, 1872 [17-347). The unfinished business of the Bureau of Refugees, Freed- 
men, etc., was turned over to the Adjutant-General July 1, 1872, who exercised con- 
trol until January 1, 1879, when the Bureau was ordered closed and all papers relating 
to payment of bounties, etc., to be turned over to the Paymaster-General. It was 
Anally closed in the Adjutant-General's Office June 30, 1879. 

Act of March 3, 1873 {17 Skits., 578). 

AN ACT to amend an act entitled " An act making appropriations for the support of 
the Army for the year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy," 
approved March third, eighteen hundred and sixty-nine. 

That the sixth section of an act entitled "An act making appropria- 
tions for the support of the Army for the year ending June thirtieth, 
eighteen hundred and scvent}^" approved March third, eighteen hun- 
dred and sixty-nine, is so far modihed as to authorize and permit the 
President of the United States to nominate, and, by and with the 
advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint one assistant adjutant- 
general, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of a major in the said 
department. 

Act of March 3, 1875 {18 A'toAs., 4.78). 
AN AC;T to reduce and tix the Adjutant-General's Department of the Army. 

That the Adjutant-General's Department of the Army shall hereafter 
consist of one Adjutant-General, with the rank, pay, and emoluments 



78 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY, 

of a brigadier-general; two assistant adjutants-general, with the rank, 
pa}^ and emoluments of colonels; four assistant adjutants-general, 
with the rank, pay, and emoluments of lieutenant-colonels; and ten 
assistant adjutants-general, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of 
majors. 

Sec. 2. That so much of section six of the act entitled "An act 
making appropriations for the support of the Arm}" for the year end- 
ing June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy, and for other pur- 
poses," approved March third, eighteen hundred and sixty-nine, as 
applies to the Adjutant-General's Department, be, and the same is 
hereby, repealed. 

March 3, 1875 {18-515). Maj. N. H. McLean, late of the Army, to be appointed to 
first vacancy in lowest grade of the Adjutant-General's Department, or be reinstated 
and retired with rank to which he' would have attained at the date of this act. 
[Major McLean was appointed lieutenant-colonel and assistant adjutant-general 
March 18, 1875, to rank from March 3, and was retired March 18, to date from 
March 3.] 

REVISED STATUTES— 2ND EDITION— 1878. 



Sec. 1U94. The Army of the United States shall consist of 

* * * 

An Adjutant-GeneraPs Department. 

* * * 

Sec. 1128. The Adjutant-General's Department of the Army shall 
consist of one Adjutant-General, with the rank of brigadier-general; 
two assistant adjutants-general, with the rank of colonel of cavalry; 
four assistant adjutants-general, with the rjink of lieutenant-colonel of 
cavalry; and thirteen assistant adjutants-general, with the rank of 
major of cavalry. 

Sec. 1129. All vacancies in the grade of major in the Adjutant- 
General's Department shall, when filled, be filled by selection from 
captains of the Army. 

Sec. 1130. Assistant adjutants-general shall, in addition to their own 
duties, perform those of assistant inspectors-general when the con- 
venience of the service requires them to do so. 

* * * 

Sec. 1193. The adjutants-general, . . . shall be appointed by 
selection from the corps to which they belong. 

Sec. 1194. Until otherwise directed b}" law, there shall be no new 
appointments and no promotions in the departments of Adiutant- 
General. . . . 

* * * 

Sec. 1617. Each division [of militia called into service] shall have 
. . . one assistant adjutant-general, with the rank of major. Each 
brigade . . . shall have . . . one assistant adjutant-general 
with the rank of captain, 

* * * 

Sec. 4815. The . . . Adjutant-General shall constitute a board 
of commissioners for the Soldiers' Home. 

June 20, 1878 {20-206). Expensesof collection and disbursement of bounty, etc., to 
colored soldiers, to be disbursed under direction of the Adjutant-General. 



THE adjutant-general's DEPARTMENT. 79 

STATUTES AT LARGE. 

Act of March 3, 1883 (22 Stats., 56 li). 

AN ACT prescribing regulations for the Soldiers' Home, located at Washington, in 
the District of Columbia, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 10. That the board of commisyioners of the Soldiers' Home 
shall hereafter consist of . . . the Adjutant-General, . . . 

* * * 

Act ofFelruary 28, 1887 {2 J,. Stats., 4.34). 

AN ACT to effect a rearrangement of grades of office in the Adjutant-General's De- 
partment of the Army. 

That the Adjutant- General's Department of the Army shall consist 
of one Adjutant-General, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of l)rig- 
adier-general; four assistant adjutants-g-eneral, with the rank, pay, and 
emoluments of colonel; six assistant adjuntants-general, with the rank, 
pa}^, and emoluments of lieutenant-colonel; and six assistant adjutants- 
general, with the rank, pa}^ and emoluments of major: Provided., That 
the yacanc-ies in the grade of colonel and lieutenant-colonel created by 
this act shall be filled l\y the promotion by seniority of the officers 
now in the Adjutant-General's Department. 

Act of August 6, 1894 {38 Stats., 233). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the sni)port of the Army for the fiscal year end- 
ing June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-five, and for other purposes. 



FOR PAY OF THE GENERAL STAFF. 

Adjutant-General's Department: . . . Provided., Thutthereshal] 
be no appointment of assistant adjutant-general with the rank of major 
until the lumiber of such officers in that grade shall be reduced below 
four and thereafter the number of such officers in that grade shall be 
fixed at four, and hereafter all appointments to fill yacancies in the 
lowest grade in the Adjutant-General's, . . . Department, respec- 
tively, shall be made from the next lowest grade in the line of the Army. 



Act of April 22, 1898 {30 Stats., 361). 

AN ACT to i)rovide for temporarily increasing the military establishment of the 

United States in time of war, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 10. That the staff of the commander of an army corps shall con- 
sist of one assistant adjutant-general, . . . who shall have, . 
the rank of lieutenant colonel ; one assistant adjutant-general, who shall 
have the rank of captain. . . . The stafl" of the commander of a 
division shall consist of one assistant adjutant-general, . . . who 
shall have, . . . the rank of major. . . . The staff of the com- 
mander of a brigade shall consist of one assistant adjutant-general, 
. . . with the rank of captain. 



80 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY, 

Act of May IS, 1898 {30 Stats., 4.19). 

AN ACT to provide for the increased volume of work in the Adjutant-General's 
Department of the Army, due to the calling out of volunteern ancl the increase of 
the Regular Army. 

That the President is authorized, by and with the advice and consent 
of the Senate, to appoint one assistant adjutant-general with the ranl^ 
of colonel, and one assistant adjutant-general with the rank of major: 
Provided., That the Aacaney created in the grade of colonel by this act 
shall be filled by the promotion of officers now in the Adjutant-Gen- 
eral's Department according to seniority, and that upon the nuistering 
out of the volunteer forces and the reduction of the Regular Army to 
a peace basis no appointments shall be made in the Adjutant-Generars 
Department until the number of officers in each grade in that depart- 
ment shall be reduced to the number authoiized by the law in force 
prior to the passage of this act. 

J. R., June 29, 189S {30-749). Prohibition of purchase of hooks and ]ieriodicals by 
act of March 15, 1898, and limitation, in section 1179, Revised Statutes, of amount to 
be expended not to apply to the Military Information Division of the Adjutant- 
General's Office. 

Act ofMa/rch '2, 1899 {30 Shds., 977). 

AN ACT for increasing the efficiency of the Army of the United States, and for other 

purposes. 

That from and after the date of approval of this act the Army of 
the United States shall consist of . . . an Adjutant-General's 
Department, . . . 

* * * 

Sec. 6. That the Adjutant-General's . . . Department shall 
consist of the number of officers now in those departments, respec- 
tively: Provided, That vacancies in the grade of major occurring in 
either department shall hereafter be tilled from captains in the line of 
the Army: And prodded further. That all such captains who have 
evinced marked aptitude in the command of troops shall be reported 
by their regimental commanders to the War De^ .irtment and shall be 
entitled to compete for any such vacancy under such s3\stem of exam- 
ination as the President shall presci'ibe. 

* * * 

Sec. 14, That the President is hereby authorized to continue in 
service, or to appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Sen- 
ate, officers of the volunteer stafi' as follows: 

Three assistant adjutants-general with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, 
and six assistant adjutants-general with the rank of major, 

•X- * * 

Act (fJnne 6, 1900 {31 Stats., —). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Military Academy for the fiscal 
year ending .iTine thirtieth, nineteen hundred and one, and for other purposes. 

* . * * 

Sec. 3. That the Adjutant-General of the Army shall have the rank, 
pay, and allowances of a major-general in the Arm}- of the United 



THE adjutant-general's DEPARTMENT. 81 

States, and on his retirement shall receive the retired pay of that rank: 
Provided, That whenever a vacancy shall occur in the office of Adju- 
tant-General on the expiration of the service of the present incumbent 
the Adjutant-General shall thereafter have the rank, pay, and allow- 
ances of a l)riiJ-adier-g'eneral. 



Act ofFSruary ?., 1901 {31 Stats., — ). 

AN ACT to increase the efficiency of the permanent military establisliment of the 

United States. 

That from and after the approval of this act the Army of the United 
States, . . shall consist of . . an Adjutant-General's Depart- 
ment, . 

* * * 

Sec. 13. That the Adjutant-General's Department shall consist of 
one Adjutant-General with the rank of major-general, and when a 
vacancy shall occur in the office of Adjutant-General on the expira- 
tion of the service of the present incumbent, by retirement or other- 
wise, the Adjutant-General shall thereafter have the rank and pay of 
a brigadier-general, live assistant adjutants-general with the rank of 
colonel, seven assistant adjutants-general with the rank of lieutenant- 
colonel, and fifteen assistant adjutants-general with the rank of major: 
Provided, That all vacancies created or caused by this section shall, as 
far as possible, be filled by promotion according to seniority of officers 
of the Adjutant-General's Department. 

* * -x- 

Sec. 26. That so long as there remain any officers holding permanent 
appointments in the Adjutant-General's Department, . . . includ- 
ing those appointed to original vacancies in the grades of captain and 
first lieutenant under the provisions of sections sixteen, seventeen, 
twenty-one, and twentj^-f our of this act, they shall be promoted accord- 
ing to seniorit}^ in the several grades, as now provided by law, and 
nothing herein contained shall be deemed to apply to vacancies which 
can be filled bj^ such promotions or to the periods for which the 
officers so promoted shall hold their appointments, and when any 
vacancy, except that of the chief of the department or corps, shall 
occur, which can not be filled by promotion as provided in this section, 
it jshall lie filled by detail from the line of the Army, and no more per- 
manent appointments shall be made in those departments or corps 
after the original vacancies created by this act shall have been filled. 
Such details shall be made from the grade in which the vacancies exist, 
under such system of examination as the President may from time to 
time prescribe. 

All officers so detailed shall serve for a period of four years, at the 
expiration of which time they shall return to duty with the line, and 
officers lielow the rank of lieutenant-colonel shall not again be eligible 
for selection in any stafl* department until they shall have served two 
years w^Jth the line. 

That when vacancies shall occur in the position of chief of any staff 

corps or department the President may appoint to such vacancies, by 

and with the advice and consent of the Senate, officers of the Army at 

large not below the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and who shall hold office 

S. Doc. 229 6 • 



82 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY Oi^ GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

for terms of four years. When a vacancy in the position of chief of any 
staff corps or department is lilled ])y the appointment of an officer 
below the rank now provided by laM' for said office, said chief shall, 
while so serving, have the same rank, pay, and allowances now pro- 
vided for the chief of such corps or department. And any officer now 
holding- office in any corps or department who shall hereafter serve as 
chief of a staff corps or department and shall subsequently be retired, 
shall be retired with the rank, pay, and allowances authorized by law 
for the retirement of such corps or department chief: Provided., That 
so long as there remain in service officers of any staff' corps or depart- 
ment holding permanent appointments, the chief of such staff' corps or 
department shall be selected from the officers so remaining therein. 

Sec. 27. That each position vacated by officers of the line, trans- 
ferred to an}^ department of the staff' for tours of service under this 
act, shall be filled by promotion in the line until the total number 
detailed equals the number authorized foi duty in each staff' depart- 
ment. Thereafter vacancies caused by details from the line to the 
staff' shall be filled l)y officers returning from tours of staff' duty. If 
under the operation of this act the number of officers returned to any 
particular arm of the service at any time exceeds the number authorized 
by law in any grade, promotions to that grade shall cease until the 
number has been reduced to that authorized. 



Act of March ^, 1901 {31 Stats., —). 

AN ACT making appropi-iation for the support of the Arm)^ for the fiscal year end- 
ing June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and two. 

* -x- * 

Provided., That appointments to fill original vacancies in the lowest 
grade in the Adjutant-General's Department, . . . may be made 
from officers of volunteers commissioned since April twenty-first, 
eighteen hundred and ninety-eight. 



III.-THE INSPECTOR-GENERAL'S DEPARTMENT. 



88 



THE INSPECTOR-GENERAL'S DEPARTMENT. 



The Inspector-Generars Department was first established under the 
act of March 8, 1818, with an org-anization of eight inspectors-general 
and sixteen adjutants-general. 

The office of Inspector-General dates from December 13, 1777, 
although Lieutenant-Colonel de la Balme, a French officer of cavalry, 
was appointed by Congress July 8, 1777, Inspector-General of Cav- 
alry; and on August 11 Monsieur du Coudray, a French artillery 
officer, was appointed Inspector-General of Ordnance and Military 
Man uf actu res. The Conti nental Congress resolved that two inspectors- 
general be appointed, and Brig. Gen. Thomas Conway was elected, 
but the other was not chosen. Fortunatel}', for the discipline of the 
Army and the conduct of military operations, the proposed plan of 
administering the inspectorship was not carried out, for its effect 
would have placed the Inspector-General in direct communication with 
Congress and the board of war. Although General Washington did 
not employ Conway as Inspector-General, he still gave heed to the 
duties of an office which ever held a high place in his mind, as on his 
conmiendation Congress appointed Baron Steuben with the rank of 
major-general. That the services of Baron Steuben had proved of 
immense value to the Army was evidenced by the letter addressed hiui 
by General Washington on the day (December 23, 1783) he resigned 
his commission and retired to private life: 

. . . "I wish to make use of this last moment of my public life to signify in 
the strongest terms ray entire approbation of your conduct, and to express my sense 
of the obligation the public is under to you, for your faithful and meritorious services. 

July 8, 1777.— Col. Mottin de la Balme (Inspector-General of Cavalry). 

Aug. 11, 1777. — Mons. du Coudray (Inspector-General of Ordnance and Military 
Stores). 

Dec. 13, 1 777. — Maj. Gen. Thomas Conway, Inspector-General. 

May 5, 1778. — Major-General Baron Steuben, Inspector-General. 

A])r. 17, 1784. — Maj. William North, ^ Inspector. 

July 3, 1788. — Mr. John Stagg, Inspector. 

— , 1788. — Lieut. Col. Francis Mentges, Inspector. 

3[ar. 10, 1792.— Lieut. Henry de Butts, Fourth Infantry (Maryland), Acting Adjutant 
and Inspector-General. 

Apr. 11, 1792.— Lieut. Col. Winthorp Sargent,^ Militia (Massachusetts). 

Feb. 23, 1793.— Maj. Michael Rudolph, Light Dragoons (Georgia), Adjutant and 
Inspector-General. 

July 18, 1793.— Sublegionary Inspector Edward Butler (Pennsylvania), Deputy Adju- 
tant and Inspector-General. 

May 13, 1794.— Maj. John Mills, Second Sublegion (Massachusetts), Acting Adjutant- 
General and Inspector. 



'On the general disbandment of the Continental Army, Captain North, who had 
l)een designated as inspector to the troops remaining in service, acted as Adjutant 
and Inspector to October 28, 1787. 

^ Colonel Sargent declined the appointment, assigning as a reason that the office 
was not attended with sufficient rauk. 

85 



86 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Feb. 27,1796. — Maj. Jonathan Haskell, Fourth Suhlegion (Massachusetts), Acting 
Adjutant-General and Inspector. 

Aug. 1, 1796. — Capt. Edward Butler, Fourth Sublegiou (Peiuisylvania), Acting Adju- 
tant-General and Inspector. 

Feb. 27, 1797. — Maj. Thomas H. Gushing, ^ First Infantry (Massachusetts), Inspector 
and Adjutant-General. 

July 18, 1798. — Maj. Gen. Alexander Hamilton (New York), Inspector-General. 

Mar. 26,1802. — Maj. Thomas H. Gushing,''^ First Infantry (Massachusetts), Adjutant 
and Inspector. 

Apr. 2, 1807.— Maj. Abimael Y. Nicoll, of the Artillerists (New York). 

July 6, 1812. — Col. Alexander Smyth, Rifle Regiment, Inspector-General. 

Mar. 12, 1818. — Brig. Gen. Zebulon M. Pike'^ (New York), Adjutant and Inspector- 
General. 

May 9, 1814. — Brig. Gen. William H. Winder (Maryland), Adjutant and Inspector- 
General. 

Nov. 22,1814. — Brig. Gen. Daniel Parker (Mas.«achusetts), Adjutant and Inspector- 

Apr. 29, 1816.— Col. JohnE. Wool (New York). 

Oct. 1, 1820. — Col. James Gadsden (South Carolina). 

Nov. 10, 1821.— Col.Samuel B. Archer (Virginia). 

Dec. 21,1825. — Col. George Croghan (Kentucky). 

Jan. 8, 1849.— Col. (Bvt. Brig. Gen., Feb. 23, 1847) Sylvester Churchill (Vermont). 

Aug. 9, 1861.— Col. (Brig. Gen., Dec. 12, 1878) Randolph B. Marcv (Massachusetts). 

Jan. 2, 1881.— Brig. Gen. Delos B. Sackett (New York). 

Mar. 11, 1885.— Brig. Gen. Nelson H. Davis (Massachusetts). 

Sept. 20, 1885. — Brig. Gen. Absalom Baird (Pennsylvania). 

Aug. 20,1888. — Brig. Gen. Roger Jones ( District of Colundna) . 

Jan. 30,1889. — Brig. Gen. Josej^h C. Breckinridge (Kentucky). 

'The act of March 3, 1797, permitted the Brigadier-General (General in Chief) to 
select his inspector from the line of the Army. Major Gushing, not having relin- 
guished his rank in the infantry on being appointed inspector, was selected by (Gen- 
eral Wilkinson, and continued to perforin the duties of Inspector and Adjutant luitil 
May 22, 1798. 

^The act of May 14, 1800, discontinued the office of Inspector-General, and the 
duties of Adjutant and Inspector were performed, under detail, by Major Gushing 
(who resided in Washington) from June 15, 1800, to Ajjril 2, 1807. 

^General Pike was killed, after the capture of Y''ork, Upper Canada, by the explo- 
sion of a magazine, April 27, 1813. From this time until May 14, 1814, the office 
remained vacant, the act of March 3, 1813, having been construed to the effect that 
there could be but one Adjutant and Inspector General, who nuist either be an offi- 
cer appointed and confirmed to that office or else a brigadier-general especially 
designated by the President to perform the functions. The affairs of the office were 
meanwhile administered l)v Maj. C. K. Gardner, Assistant Adjutant-General, until 
December 30, 1813, and fnun that date to May 28, 1814, by Col. J. De B. Walbach, 
who was relieved at that date by Maj. John R. Bell, Assistant Inspector. 



THE IXSPECTOK-GENEKAL'S DEPARTMENT. 



JOURNALS OF THE AMERICAN (CONTINENTAL) CONGRESS. 

April IS, 1777. — In the absence of a regnlar inspector, Congress requested General 
Armstrong to inspect the magazines of provisions under tlie care of Conmiissary 
Wharton. 

July <S', 1777. 

Resolved., That Lieutenant-Colonel Mottin de la Balrae be appointed 
inspector-general of the cavalry of the United States of America, with 
the rank and pay of colonel. 

That Mons. Vallenais be appointed an aid to Mons. de la Balme, 
with the rank and pay of a captain of cavalry. 

July 16, 1777. — Messrs. Heyward, J. Adams, and Lovell were appointed a i;ommit- 
tee to confer witli Mr. du Coudray, and inform liim that wliile Congress can not com- 
ply with the agreement he has entered into with Mr. Deane, yet, sensible of the 
services he has rendered the United States and having a favorable opinion of his 
merit and abilities, they will cheerfully give him such rank and appointments as 
shall not be inconsistent with the honor and safety of the States or interfere with 
the great duties they owe to their constituents. 

August 11, 1777. 

Resolved., That Mons. du Coudray be appointed inspector-general of 
ordnance and military manufactories, with the rank of major-general. 

Res<jl('ed^ That a committee of four be appointed to define the powers 
to be granted to and exercised by Mons. du Coudray. 

The members chosen, Mr. Wilson, Mr. Duane, Mr. Heyward, and 
Mr. S. Adams. 

October 11, 1777. — Colonel tie la Baime resigned. 

Decemher IS, 1777. 

Resolved^ As the opinion of this Congress, that it is essential to the 
promotion of discipline in the American Army, and to the reformation 
of the various abuses which prevail in the different departments, that 
an appointment be made of inspectors-general, agreeable to the practice 
of the best disciplined European armies. 

Resolved, That this appointment be conferred on experienced and 
vigilant general officers, who are acquainted with whatever relates to 
the general economy, manoeuvers, and discipline of a well-regulated 
army. 

Resolved, That the duties of these officers be as follows: 

To review, from time to time, the troops, and to see that every 
officer and soldier be instructed in the exercise and manoeuvers which 
may be established by the lioard of war, that the rules of discipline be 
strictly observed, and that the officers command their soldiers properly 
and do them iustice. 

•■ 87 



88 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Resolved^ That the inspectors-general, respectively, shall give notice 
to the commanders of regiments of the time which shall be fixed on 
for such reviews, who are to prepare the following returns, models of 
which are previously to be furnished by the inspector, viz: 

A return of clothing. 

A return of arms and accoutrements. 

A return of recruits, with an account of the money laid out for that 
purpose. 

A return of the number and names of the wounded men, distinguish- 
ing such as are fit for the corps of invalids and such as are totally unfit 
for service. 

A return of the loss sustained in the regiment l>y death, desertion, 
or otherwise. 

A return of the pay and rations drawn by each regiment. 

A return of all the officers of each regiment, with observations upon 
the behavior, capacity, and assiduity of every individual. 

All the returns, when signed by the field officers of each regiment, 
are to lie carefully scrutinized by the Inspector-General, who, after 
having made and added his remarks upon the same, is to sign and 
transmit them to Congress. 

Resolved^ That the inspectors-general shall make these reviews in the 
beginning and at the latter end of every campaign, and at such other 
times as the Commander in Chief shall direct, or as they themselves 
shall severally judge proper, or shall receive orders for that purpose 
from the board of war, first giving notice thereof to the Commander in 
Chief, and obtaining his leave for reviewing the said troops. 

Remlved^ That the inspectors-general, respectively, shall make this 
review minutely, man by man, attending to the complaints and repre- 
sentations of both soldier and officer, and transmitting to Congress 
what petitions and grievances he shall think worth}^ of notice; that not 
solely depending upon the accounts and characters of officers as given 
him by the colonels of regiments, the inspectors-general shall examine 
the said officers in person, direct them to command different manoeu- 
vres, and take such measures as shall enable him to give an exact 
account to Congress. 

Resolved^ That these reviews when closed be transmitted to Congress 
by the inspectoi'-general making the review, who is to furnish the 
major of the respective regiments with a tiopy of the same, and to keep 
another for his own government and assistance in proceeding to the 
next review. 

Resolved^ That the inspectors-general shall examine from time to 
time the pay books of the respective regiments, which are to be kept 
in an uniform manner, agreeable to such regulations as may be estab- 
lished for that purpose, giving immediate notice to Congress of any 
malversation or mismanagement which he may discover. 

Resolved^ That it be referred to the commissioners of the war office 
to report such further regulations for this office as they shall deem 
calculated to extend its utility and to promote the end of its institution. 

Resolved^ That two inspectors-general be now appointed. 

Congress proceeded to the election and, the ballots being taken, 
Brigadier T. Conway was elected. 

******* 

Resolved^ That another major-general be appointed in the Army of 
the United States. The ballots being taken, Brigadier T. Conw^ay was 
elected. 



THE inspectoe-genekal's depaktment. 89 

Marches, 1778. — "Asa system of easy manoeuvres and exercises is to be intro- 
duced, with a view of establishing uniformity in those points throughout the Army, 
the commandiuu: otfi(;ers of brigades and regiments are desired to discontinue exer- 
cising and mancL'Uvreing their men by way of instructions, until new regulations shall 
be distributed." {Orders, General Headquarters, Valley Forge.) [This was prepara- 
tory to the introduction of Baron Steuben in the character of Inspector-General, and 
the adoption of the new system of tactics proposed by him. General "\\^ashington at 
this date was selecting proper suljinspectors.] 

March 28, 1778. — "The Baron Steuben, a lieutenant-general in foreign service and 
a gentleman of great military experience, having obligingly undertaken to exercise 
the office of Inspector-General in the Army, the Commander in Chief, till the 
pleasure of Congress be known, desires he may be respected and obeyed as such, 
and hopes and expects that all officers, of whatsoever rank, will afford him every 
aid in their power in the execution of his office. 

"Lieut. Colonels Davies, Brooks, Barber, and Mr. Ternant are appointed to act as 
subinspectors; the three former retaining their rank and station in the line." 
{Orders, General Headquarters, Valley Forge.) 

March 29, 1778. — "The following officers are appointed brigade inspectors, and are 
to be obeyed and respected as such in their several respective brigades: Colonel 
Tupjier, in General Patterson's brigade; Lieut. Colonel Sprout, in General Glover's; 
Major Wallace, in Woodford's; Major Cabell, in Weedon's; Major Hull, in Learned's; 
Major Fish, in Poor's; Major Iluling ? in the late Conway's; Captain Smith, in Var- 
num's; Major Brimfield, in Maxwell's; Major Kyan, in the 1st Pennsylvania; Cap- 
tain Inglis, in Mcintosh's; Captain McGowan, 2nd Pennsylvania." {Orders, General 
Headquarters, Valley Forge. ) 

April 7, 1778. — "Captain William Lewis is appointed brigade-inspector in General 
Muhlenberg's brigade, and Captain Croghan in General Scott's." {Orders, General 
Headquarters, Valley Forge. ) 

April 26, 1778. — "Lieut. Colonel Fleury is to act as subinspector, and will attend 
the Baron Steuben till circumstances will admit of assigning him a division of the 
Army. ' ' ( Orders, General Headquarters, Valley Forge. ) 

J/ay 5, 1778. 

Hesol'iwl, That Congress approve General Washing-ton's plan for the 
institution of a well-organized inspectorship. 

That Baron Steuben ^ be appointed to the office of Inspector-General, 
with the rank and pa}' of major-general, his pay to commence from the 
time he joined the Army and entered into the service of the United 
States, 

That there be two ranks of inspectors under the direction of the 
Inspector-General, the first to superintend two or more brigades and 
the other to be charged with the inspection of only one brigade. 

' Frederick William Augustus Steuben was a distinguished officer in tlie Prussian 
armies. He reached America December 1, 1777, and served as a volunteer until his 
appointment as Inspector-General, which was mainly secured by Washington's influ- 
ence. No foreign officer rendered more important service to America. He had given 
up an income, offices, and emoluments far greater than those he could hope for in 
America, and from pure love of freedom entered as a volunteer, the service of the 
United States, in which he died November 28, 1795. 

" I have seen the Baron and his assistants seven long hours inspecting a brigade of 
three small regiments. Every man not present must be accounted for; if in camp, 
sick or well, they were produced or visited; every musket handled and searched; 
(•artridge boxes opened, even the flints and cartridges counted. Knapsacks unslung 
and every article of clothing spread on the soldier's blanket, and tested by his little 
book, whether what he had received from the United States within the year was 
there; if not, to be accounted for. Hospitals, stores, laboratories, every place and 
every thing was open to inspection and inspected, and what officer's mind was at ease 
if losses or expenditures could not, on the day of searching, be fully and fairly 
accounted for? The inspections were every month, and wonderful was the effect, 
not only with regard to economy, but in creating a spirit of emulation between dif- 
ferent corps. I have known the subalterns of a regiment appropriate one of their 
two rations to the bettering the appearance of their men, but this was at a later period 
of the war, when supplies and payments were more ample and more regular." 
\_WiUiavi 2^^orth, in Kapp's Life of Steuben.] 



90 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

That the officers appointed inspectors receive, in addition to the pay 
which they derive from their ranks, 30 dollars a month, and that the 
brigade inspectors receive, in addition to their pay, 20 dollars a month. 

That General Washington he authorized to appoint such persons to 
be inspectors and brigade inspectors for the main Army as he shall 
think best qualified to execute the several duties of those offices. 

May 9, 1778. — -"Congress have been pleased to appoint Baron Stenben Inspector- 
General with the rank of major-general, and the Commander in Chief, being invested 
with powers to appoint the inspectors and brigade inspectors, continues in office 
those whohave already been nominated and appointed." [Orders, Oeneral Head- 
quarters, Valley Forge.) [July 2, 1778, Baron Steuben was given the temporary com- 
mand of Woodford's, Scott's, and the North Carolina brigades. July 22 General 
Washington directed him to resume his office of Inspector-General and tendered 
him his thanks for condui-ting the right wing of the Army from Brunswick to 
Wright's Mills.] 

May U, 1778. 

Resolved., That it is the interest of the United States to employ 
Mons. de la Neuville^ [sr.] as inspector of the Army under the com- 
mand of Major-General Gates. 

•X- -X- * 

Mesolved., That Mr. de la Neuville's pay as inspector be 1(>.5 doUars 
per month and six rations a day, his pay and rations to commence from 
the time of his entering the service of the United States. 

Resolved., That Mr. de la Neuville be informed that Congress will 
be disposed, after an experience of his services as an inspector to the 
army under General Gates, for the space of three months, to confer 
on him such rank as his merits may justly entitle him to. 

May 26, 1778. 

Resolved, That the Quartermaster-General be directed to furnish 
Baron Steuben with two good horses for his use. 

June 4, 1778. — "On the march, Lieut. Colonel Fleury will be attached to General 
Lee's division; Lieut. Colonel Davies to General Stirling's; Lieut. Colonel Barber to 
General Mifflin's; Major Ternant to General de La Fayette's; Lieut. Colonel Brooks 
to General de Kalb's; and, as they will not be employed on the march in exercising 
or maneuvering the troops, they are to fill the office of adjutant-general, each in his 
respective division." [Orders, General Headquarters, Valley Forge.) 

June 15, 1778. — "Till the duties of the office of Insi:)ector-General shall be defined 
and fixed by Congress, the Commander in Chief thinks proper to establish the fol- 
lowing plan: 

The fimctions of it are to comprehend the instituting a system of rules and regu- 
lations for the exercise of the troops in the manual and maneuvers; for their forma- 
tion for the purposes of exercise on guard and on detachments, and for camp and 



^The appointment of Mr. de la Neuville, sr., was predicated on the following 
reasons: Recommended by Baron de Wormser, lieutenant-general in the French 
service, as an officer of great zeal, activity, and knowledge; recommended to 
General Washington by the Marquis de Bonilli, governor of Martinico, as an intel- 
ligent officer, not only acquainted with the theory but tlie practice of war, having 
served in several canii)aigns in Germany; l>y Mr. Merlet, (|uartermaster-general of 
the French army, and further by the favorable testimonies of the Marquis de 
La Fayette, and Major-General Conway. October 14, 1778, Mr. de la Neuville, sr., 
was granted a brevet commission of brigadier-general, to date i\.ugust 14, 1778, and 
on the 4th of Det-ember following Congress directed that a certificate be given him 
by the President, in the words following: "Mr. de la Neuville, having served with 
fidelity and reputation in the Army of the United States, in testimony of his merit, 
a brevet commission of brigadier has been granted him by Congress, and, on his 
request, he is permitted to leave the service of these States and return to Frant-e." 



THE inspector-general's DEPARTMENT. 91 

garrison duty, by which is to be understood wliatever relates to the service of guards, 
the ordinary routine of duty in and the internal policy of camps and garrisons; in 
the execution of which rules and regulations the Insi^ector-General and his assistants 
shall 1)6 employed as hereafter specified. 

All rules and regulations shall first be approved and authorized by tlie Commander 
in Chief, and either published in general orders or otherwise communicated through 
the Adjutant-General, from whom the division and brigade inspectors will receive 
them and communicate them to the major-generals and brigadiers, and to their 
respective divisions and brigades. 

. . . The division and brigade inspectors will assist in their execution [mili- 
hiiy maneuvers and exercises] under the immediate orders of the major-generals, 
l)riga(liers, and colonels commanding. 

. . . Grand maneuvers will be occasionally executed by the Inspector-General, 
with particular brigades or with detachments from the line. . . . The Inspector- 
General will occasionally attend the troops while exercising. His directions relative 
to their exercise agreeably to the rules laid down are to be observed by every officer 
of inferior rank who may command. When any new maneuver is to be introduced, 
it is, in the first instance, to be performed by the division or brigade inspector, after 
which the brigadier or colonel will take the command. Each division inspector shall 
attend his major-general when he is of the day, and under his directions assist the 
field officers of the day in examining whether the duty of the guards is performed 
according to rule. Eac^h brigade inspector shall likewise attend his brigadier when 
he is of the day, for the same purpose. On the daily parade of the guard, the 
Inspector-General, if present, or the subinspector of the day, is to exercise the 
parade under the orders of the major-general of the day. The division and brigade 
inspectors are immediately to furnish their respective major and brigadier generals 
with all the regulations ■\vhi<'h ha\'e been heretofore made." [Orders, General Head- 
quarters, Valley Forge. ) 

June 16, 1778. — "Captain Archibald Anderson, of the 2nd Maryland regiment, is 
appointed brigade insi)eetor to the 2nd Maryland brigade." (Orders, General Head- 
quarters, Valleu Forge.) 

July 29. 177S. 

Tho Board of War further reported: ^ 

That Mons. Noirmont de la Neuville [jr.] since the month of Decem- 
ber has acted as aid-de-camp to Major-General Conway, and since the 

^ Mr. de la Neuville, aid-de-camp to the Marquis de La Fayette, was promoted to 
lieutenant-colonel by brevet; Fel)ruary 4, 1779, Congress denied his petition for a 
brevet commission of lieutenant-colonel, although the Marquis had addressed a letter 
to Congress in his favor on Decendier 22, 1778; February 10, 1779, at his request, Mr. 
Noirmont de la Neuville was authorized to return to France; April ] , 1779, the Board 
of War having reported that Mr. Noirmont de la Neuville is a brevet major, and as 
as such entitled to neither the pay nor subsistence allowed to a major, Congress 
authorized him to repair to the Southern Army under General Lincoln, and granted 
liim the pay and subsistence of a major during the ensuing campaign. October 18, 
1779, Congress resolved "That Major de la Neuville, who has served two campaigns 
in the American Army, and has obtained very honoral:)le testimonials of his merit, 
valor, and services in the several capacities in which he has been employed, be 
appointed a lieutenant-colonel by brevet in the Army of the United States. That 
Lieutenant-Colonel Noirmont de la Neuville have leave to return to France." Octo- 
ber 21, 1779, the Board of War having represented that Mons. Noirmont de la Neu- 
ville had represented his uneasiness lest his not being gratified with the rank and 
command of a lieutenant-colonel should create disagreeable comparisons between the 
supposed ideas entertained by Congress of his merit and that of those enjoying such 
command. Congress resolved: "That Congress entertain a very favorable opinion of 
the personal merit and military character of Mons. Noirmont de la Neuville, which 
he has evidenced on every occasion presenting itself to him during his service in 
America; but a re-formation of the Army having lately taken place, which renders it 
inconsistent with the arrangement as now settled to grant commands in the line to 
gentlemen under Mr. Noirmont's circumstances, has prevented his having a conmiis- 
sion of the same nature with some others, though his merit and services would other- 
wise entitle him thereto." [As the brevet of lieutenant-colonel had already been 
conferred upon i\Ir. de Neuville by the resolve of October 27, 1778, the denial of his 
petition for promotion must have been because, as seemingly indicated in the resolve 
of October 21, 1779, lie sought a commission of that grade in the line.] 



92 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY, 

appointment of hi.s l)rother us inspector to the Northern Army has dis- 
charged the duties of deputy inspector with uncommon assiduity and 
much satisfaction to the officers and men of the Northern Army; 
whereupon, 

Besolved, That Mons. Noirmont de la Neuville have the rank of a 
major by brevet in the American Army. 

September m, 1778. 

Resolved., That Mr. JohnTernant^ be appointed a lieutenant-colonel 
in the service of the United States, and be ordered to repair to South 
Carolina forthwith, to perform the duties of inspector to the troops in 
the service of these States in South Carolina and Georgia; that he 
report his proceedings as inspector, from time to time, to the board 
of war and Inspector-General, conforming himself to such regulations 
as are or shall be established by Congress for th(^ Inspector-Generars 
Department; and, until he shall be duly notitied of the plan of the 
department being arranged and confirmed l)y Congress, that he govern 
himself as near as may be by the rules and practice pursued ))V Baron 
Steuben, during his having executed the office of inspector-general 
with the grand army, procuring the approbation and authorit}^ of the 
officer commanding the troops of the United States in the said States 
of South Carolina and Georgia, in all matters relative to the discipline 
of the troops and the police of the camps, garrisons, or quarters, 
previous to their being put in practice l)y him as inspector. 

Resolved., That Mr. Ternant be allowed the pay and subsistence of a 
lieutenant-colonel from the 26th of March last. 

FrhriKiry lS\ 1779. 

Resolved, That there be an Inspector-General to the armies of the 
United States, with the rank of major-general, who, in all future 
appointments, shall be taken from the line of major-generals; 

That the duty of the Inspector-General shall principally consist in 
forming a system of regulations, for the exercise of the troops in the 
manual evolutions and mancpuvres, for the service of guards and 
detachments, and for camp and garrison duty; 

That the Inspector-General and his assistants shall review the troops 
at such times and places, and receive such returns for that purpose, as 
the Commander in Chief or commanding officer in a detachment shall 
direct; at which reviews he or they shall inspect the number and con- 
dition of the men, their discipline and exercise, the state of their arms, 
accouterments, and clothes; observing what of these articles have been 
lost or spoiled since the last review, and, as nearly as possible, bj'^ 
what means; reporting the same, with the deficiencies and neglects, 
to the Commander in Chief, or the commanding officer of a detach- 
ment, and to the board of war; 

That all new manoeuvres shall be introduced b}^ the Inspector-Gen- 
eral, and all old ones performed according to the established princi- 
ples, under his superintendency ; but he shall not introduce or practice 

^ Lieutenant-Colonel Ternant having had two riding horses impressed hy the State 
of South Carolina during the siege of Charleston, Congress, October 1(3, 1780, ordered 
the quartermaster-general to furnish him with two good horses. 



THE INSPECTOE-GENERAL's DEPARTMENT. 93 

any regulations relative to the objects of his department, save such as 
are made and established in manner following, all regulations whatso- 
ever to ]>e finally approved and established b}" Congress. But the 
exigence of the service requiring it, temporary ones may, from time 
to time, be introduced by the Inspector-General with the approbation 
of the Commander in Chief. These regulations to be communicated to 
the Army through the Adjutant-General, and to be transmitted to the 
board of war with all convenient despatch, that, after being examined 
and reported by them to Congress, they may be rejected, altered, 
amended, or confirmed, as Congress shall deem proper; 

That there be as many subinspectors as the Commander in Chief or 
commanding officer in a detachment shall, on consideration of the 
strength and situation of the Army, from time to time, deem neces- 
sary, to be taken from the line of lieutenant-colonels, and to receive 
their instructions relative to the department from the Inspector- 
General; 

That there be one brigade inspector to each brigade, who shall be 
one of the majors in the brigade; and that the ofiice of brigade inspector 
shall in future be annexed to that of major of brigade. He shall 
accordingl}^ keep a roster of the battalions of his brigade, regulate all 
the details and take care of the formation and march of all guards, 
detachments, &c., from the brigade. He is to receive the general 
orders and communicate them to the commanding oflicers of the bri- 
gades and regiments, and, through the adjutants, to all the officers of the 
brigade. He is, so far as concerns his brigade, to inspect the police 
of the camp, the discipline and order of the service. In time of action 
he is to assist in executing the necessary manosuvi'es of the brigade, 
according to the orders of the brigadier or officer commanding. He is 
to do no duty in the line; 

That all the officers of the inspectorship having appointments in the 
line shall retain their rights of command, succession, and promotion 
in the same manner as if they had not assumed the office. But as the 
duties of this department are sufficient to employ their whole time, 
they are to suspend the exercise of their respective commands, except 
on particular occasions, when the Commander in Chief or commanding 
officer in a detachment may deem it necessary to invest them with com- 
mand. They are to be exempted from all common camp and garrison 
duty, that they may attend the more carefully to those of the inspec- 
tion; and in time of action they are to be employed in assisting in the 
execution of the field manoeuvres; 

That the Inspector-General, so far as relates to the inspector of the 
Army, be subject to the orders of Congress, the board of war, and the 
Conmiander in Chief only; but the subinspectors shall also be subject 
to the officers commanding the divisions and brigades to which they 
are attached, on the principles herein established; 

That there be allowed to the Inspector-General, in consideration of 
the extraordinary expenses which attend the execution of his ofiice, 
S-f dollars per month, in addition to the pay and rations of a major- 
general, heretofore provided. 

3farch 39, 1779.— Bavon Steuben having prepared a system of regulations for the 
infantry, wiiich was highly commended by both General Washington and the Board 
of AVai'j Congress adopted the system of tactics and ordered its publication and distri- 
bution to the Army. 



94 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF OENEEAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

April 5, 1779. 

Resolved., That Baron Steuben,, Inspector-General, be informed by 
the President that Congress entertain a high sense of his merit, dis- 
played in a variety of instances, but especially in the system of mili- 
tary order and discipline formed and presented b}^ him to Congress. 

May 13, 1779. — "Major Cabell is appointed . . . inspector to General Muh- 
lenberg's brigade, and Major Croghan to General "Woodford's." {Orders, General 
Headquarter!^, Middlebrook. ) 

May 26, 1779. — " Lieutenant-Colonel Regnier is appointed a subinspector. ' ' ( Orders, 
General Headquarters, Middlebrook. ) 

June 13, 1779. — "Lieutenant-Colonel Harmar is appointed subinspector to the 
Pennsylvania Division." {Orders, General Headquarters, Smit]i\'< Tarerii.) 

June 21, 1779. — "Colonel Davies, as eldest subinspector, will do the duty of Adju- 
tant-Genei-al during said time [temporary absence of the Adjutant-Gen-jral with the 
Commander in Chief]." {Orders, General Headquarters, Smith's Tavern.) 

June £^, 1779. 

JResolved., That majors, in consideration of their extra duty, acting 
as brigade inspectors . . . receive 44 dollars per month, in addi- 
tion to their regimental pay. 

* * * 

Resolved., That the Adjutant-General for the time 1)eing be also 
Assistant Inspector-General. 

,June24, 1779. — " Colonel Williams, of the Maryland line, is appointed subinspector." 
( Orders. General Headquarters, New Windsor. ) 

July 1, 1779. — " Henry McCormick, esq., late brigade major to the 1st Pennsylvania 
Brigade, is apjioiiited to do the duties of . . . brigade inspector to the light 
corps under Brigadier-General Wayne." {Orders, General Headquarters, New 
Windsor. ) 

July 6, 1779. 

Resolved., That, in consideration of their extra duties and service, the 
officers in the army of these States serving as sub and brigade uispect- 
ors be allowed, the former three rations a day and forage for three 
horses, and the latter two rations a day and forage for two horses, in 
lieu of all former rations and forage, both as officers in the line and as 
inspectors; their subsistence money as officers in the line to remain as 
heretofore. 

.Tuly 11, 1779. — " Lieutenant-Colonel Grosvenor,of the Connecticut line,is appointed 
subinspector." {Orders, General Headquarters, New Windsor.) 

July 26, 1779. — Congress voted a silver medal to Lieutenant-Colonel Fleury for 
distinguished gallantry in the assault of the enemy's works at Stoney Point. 

August 11, 1779.- — "Lieutenant-Colonel Sprout is appointed subinspector in the 
Army." {Orders, General Headquarters, Moore's House.) 

August m, 1779. 

Ordered, That Major Noirmont de la Neuvillc be allowed the pay 
and subsistence of a major while he shall continue a volunteer with 
the Army. 

September 27, 1779. — Colonel Fleury was granted leave of absence for nine months. 

December 17, 1779. — " bieutcnant-Colonel Barl)er is to do tlie duty of sul)inspect()r 
in Major-General Lord Stirling's division, and Lieutenant-Colonel Regnier in tlie 
division composed of Clinton's and Stark's brigades." ( Orders, General Headquarters, 
Morristown.) 



THE inspector-general's DEPARTMENT. 95 

December 24, 1779. — ' ' Major Church, of the 4th Pennsylvania Regiment, is appointed 
brigade . . . inspector to General Hand's brigade." {Orders, General Head- 
quarters, Morristown. ) 

JaniMry 1, 1780. — "Captain Brice, of the 3d Maryland Regiment, is appointed 
brigade . . . inspector of the 1st Maryland Brigade till further orders." 
{Orders, General Ileadqaarters, Morristown.) 

Jamiary m, 1780. 

Resolved^ That Mr. Galvan receive the commission of major in the 
Army of the United States, and be employed in the inspectorship, as 
the Commander in Chief shall direct. 

* * * 

HesoJved, That in future the business of mustering the troops be 
performed by the inspectors of the Army, in such manner and under 
such regulations as the Commander in Chief shall direct, who is hereby 
authorized to make the arrangements respecting the same to Congress. 

January 26, 1780. — "Captain William Van Lear, of the 9th Pennsylvania Regiment, 
having done the duty of . . . brigade inspector of the 2nd Pennsylvania Brigade 
from the 12th day of December last, is appointed brigade . . . inspector of the 
same till further orders." (Orders, General Headquarters, Morristoivn.) 

July 6, 1780. — "Lt. Col. Barber is requested to undertake the subinspectorship of 
Hand' s, Max well' s, and Stark' s Ijrigades. ' ' ( Orders, General Headquarters, Praeaness. ) 

July IS, 1780. 

Resolved, That the following proportion of wagons and bathorses 
be allowed to the different ranks of officers, and no more, unless it be 
by order of the Commander in Chief, or commanding officer of a sepa- 
rate army, each of whom to be allowed for themselves so many bag- 
gage wagons and bathorses as they may think necessary, to wit: 
* * * 

Inspector-General, for his baggage according to his rank, and for 
his papers, etc. , according as the service may require or Com- 
mander in Chief may direct 1 bathorse. 

Subinspector 1 two-liorse wagon. 

Brigade inspector 1 two-horse wagon. 

-X- -x- * 

Rci^olved, That in addition to the forage allowed for the wagon and 
bathorses by these regulations there be issued ... as many 
rations as the service shall require. 

. . . ; Inspector-General agreeable to his rank; subinspector, 
in addition to what he draws in the line, one; . 

August 3, 1780. — " Major Pettingill, of the 9th Massachusetts Regiment, is appointed 
brigade inspector to the 4th Massachusetts Brigade from the 25th of July last." 

"Capt. Ashley, of the 1st Massachusetts Regt. (entitled to a majority), is appointed 
brigade inspector pro tern, to the 2nd Massachusetts Brigade." {Orders, General 
Headquarters, Peekskill. ) 

Augxist 5, 1780. — "Lt. Col. Smith is appointed inspector and will consider the light 
infantry in his department." 

"Major Rice is appointed inspector to Stark's brigade." 

"Major Scott, as oldest brigade inspector in General McDougall's division, will do 
the duty of inspector to the division." {Orders, General Headquarters, Peekskill.) 

August 8, 1780. — "Capt. Moses White, of Colonel Hazen's Regt., is appointed to do 
the duty of brigade inspector in General Poor's brigade till further orders, vice 
Major Scott, indisposed." {Orders, General Headquarters, Orangetown.) 

August 29, 1780. — "From the deficiency of tield officers in the Jersey brigade, and 
more particularly in tlie regiment to wiiich Lt. Col. l!arl)er belongs, he is permitted 
for the present to decline the duties of inspector and confine himself to those of his 



96 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

regiment. Major Fish will in the meantime perform the duties of division inspector." 
( Orders, General Headquarters, Tean Neck. ) 

September 8, 1780. — "Major Rosekrans will do the duty of brigade inspector to 
Clinton's Brigade during Major Fish's absence." {Orders, General Headquarters, 
Steenrapia. ) 

September 16, 1780. — "Major James Moore is appointed inspector to the 1st Penn- 
sylvania Brigade from the 21st of July last." [Orders, General Headquarters, Steen- 
rapia. ) 

September 26, 1780. 

PLAN OF THE INSPECTING AND MUSTERING DEPARTMENT. 

Whereas the institution of this department hath been found of great 
utility to the armies of these United States, and experience hath shown 
that it may be rendered still more useful by any extension of its powers 
and objects: Therefore 

Resolved, That the former establishment, by a resolution of the 18th 
of February, 1779, and all subsequent resolutions relative thereto, be 
repealed, and the department hereafter have the following form, pow- 
ers, and privileges: 

There shall be an inspector-general with the main army of the United 
States, to be appointed by Congress, who shall be allowed two secre- 
taries, in addition to the aids he is allowed in the line of the Army, to 
be taken from the line of captains and subalterns, who shall receive, in 
addition to their pay, 6 dollars per month. 

" There shall be one assistant inspector-general with the main army, 
who shall be adjutant-general for the time being, and shall receive, in 
addition to his pay, $10 per month; and one to every separate army, 
when consisting of two or more divisions, who shall be the deputy 
adjutant-general, and shall receive, in addition to his pay, 8 dollars 
per month. 

There shall be one inspector to each division of the Armj^ of the United 
States — one to the corps of cavalry and one to the corps of artillery — 
to be taken, when the service will admit, from the line of colonels and 
lieutenant-colonels, who shall be allowed, in addition to their pay, 7i 
dollars per month and forage for three horses, including what they 
are entitled to in the line of the Army, and one extra ration of provi- 
sion, when the state of the magazine will admit. 

There shall be one subinspector to every brigade in the Army of the 
United State, one to the corps of cavalry and one to the corps of artil- 
lery, if thought necessary by the Commander in Chief or commanding- 
officer of a separate army, to be taken from the line of majors in the 
brigade, when the sei-vice will admit, who shall be allowed, in addition 
to their pay, 5 dollars per month, and one extra ration, when the state 
of the magazines will admit. 

The Conmiander in Chief and commanding officer of a separate army 
are hereby empowered to appoint inspectors and subinspectors to the 
militia, while in active service, agreeable to the foregoing plan, who 
shall have the same powers, privileges, and emoluments as those serv- 
ing with the Continental Army. 

It shall 1)0 the duty of the Inspector-General to frame a system of 
regulations for the exercise and discipline of the troops in the man- 
ual, evolutions, and manoeuvres, for the service of guards and detach- 
ments, and for all camp and garrison duty, and if approved of by the 
Commander in Chief and ratified by Congress, such regulations shall 
be enforced by the orders of the Commander in Chief throughout the 
Army 



THE inspectoe-geneeal's depaetmekt. 97 

The assistant inspectors-general shall assist in the general duties of 
the Department, agreeable to the directions they shall receive from 
the Inspector-General (through the order of the Commander in Chief), 
and when the inspector is not present shall have chief direction of the 
same, agreeable to the orders they may receive as aforesaid; and they 
shall nevertheless continue to perform their duties of adjutant and 
deputy adjutant-general. 

The inspectors shall attend to the execution of the regulations 
established for the army in their respective divisions, and in such 
garrisons as they may be ordered by the Inspector-General or the 
assistant inspector-general, at all times performing the duties of adju- 
tant-general to the .same; and when a detachment of more than one 
division is .sent from the Army the eldest inspector of the marching 
troops shall act as adjutant-general to the detachment. 

The subinspectors shall do the duty of majors of brigade to the bri- 
gades to which they belong, and attend to the execution of the regula- 
tions established for the Army in their respective brigades and such 
garrisons, detachments, and independent corps as they shall be ordered 
by the Inspector-General or assistant inspector-genera! with a separate 
army. 

The Inspector-General and the assistant inspector-general shall review 
and muster the troops in service once ever}^ month, at which review 
he or they shall inspect the number and condition of the men, their 
discipline, the state of their clothes, arms, accoutrements, and camp 
equipage; the number of rations the}^ haxe drawn since the last review, 
reporting such soldiers and recruits as are unfit for service to the 
major-general or commander of the division, the brigadier or com- 
mander of a regiment detached from the division or brigade to which 
such disabled soldier may belong, to be by them, or either of them, 
discharged or transferred to the corps of invalids if, on examination of 
the surgeon of the regiment, they shall be found unfit for further 
service in the field. But no such soldier shall be deemed legally dis- 
charged or transferred except his discharge or transference is signed 
by the major-general, brigadier, or commandant as aforesaid, and a 
certificate of his inability, specifying the nature of it, signed by the 
surgeon, is annexed thereto, noting at the same time all alterations 
that have happened since the last review or muster and, as far as pos- 
sible, in what manner, reporting them with the deficiencies, neglects, 
and abuses to the Commander in Chief or commanding ofiicer present 
and the board of war. 

At every muster three rolls shall be made out by the commanding 
officer of each troop or company, signed and sworn to by him, one of 
which rolls shall be returned to him certified by the mustering officer; 
one shall be retained by the mustering officer; the other shall be certi- 
fied and delivered to the regimental paymaster, to be affixed to the 
pay rolls. 

Each brigade shall be mustered by its subinspector under the super- 
intendency of the inspector of the division, who shall be responsible, 
with the subinspector, for the exactness and fidelity of the musters; 
and in like manner all garrisons, independent corps, and detachments 
shall be mustered by such inspector or subinspectors as the Inspector- 
General, or assistant inspector-general with a separate arm}^, shall order. 

The subinspectors shall deliver an abstract of all such musters, 
regimentally digested, to the inspector of the division, who shall digest 

S. Doc. 229 7 



98 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF IT. S. ARMY. 

them into division abstracts, in the same form , and transmit them to the 
assistant inspectors-general, to be b}'- them transmitted to the Inspector- 
General, and in a separate arm}' to the commanding officer. 

The Inspector-General shall transmit, once every month, a copy of 
the abstracts of the musters of the whole Army to the Commander in 
Chief, and another to the board of war. 

No commanding officer of a regiment shall muster the regiment he 
commands, ))ut another inspector shall be ordered to do that duty bythe 
Inspector-General. 

The assistant inspector in a separate army shall do the same duties 
in that army as the Inspector-General doth in the main army, respect- 
ing the musters, according to the directions he shall receive and orders 
of the commanding officer. 

The conunissary of issues shall be obliged to deliver to the Inspector- 
General, and assistant inspector with a separate army, an abstract by 
brigades of the rations actually issued, and of all issues to all separate 
corps, garrisons, and detachments. 

All muster rolls shall be sworn to before a general officer, or com- 
mandant of a separate post or detachment, who are hereby empowered 
to administer the oath, and certify it on each muster roll, in the words 
following, to wit: 

"I, A B, do swear that this muster roll is a true state of the com- 
pany under my conunand, without fraud to the United States or to 
any individual, according to the best of my knowledge. 

"'A B, capt., lieut., ensign, or command't. 

" Sworn before me this day of , 17 — ." 

The mustering officers are empowered and directed to require from 
all the officers whoso troops are mustered all papers and vouchers 
relative to their enlistments and musters. 

The inspectors shall keep accounts with the officers commanding 
regiments of all arms and accouti-ements delivered their regiments 
and re-turned in by them. No arms or accoutrements shall be delivered 
without an order from the inspector of the division, to whom returns 
for arms and accoutrements wanted shall be made, in the form directed 
in the resolution for the order and discipline of the troops of these 
United States. 

All officers of the inspectorship shall retain their rights of command 
and promotion in the same manner as if they had not assumed the 
office. They are to suspend the exercise of their respective commands 
except when they happen to be the superior in the division brigade 
or regiment to which they belong, or when they are appointed to 
execute any particular service b}' the Commander in Chief, or com- 
manding officer of a separate army; and are exempt from all common 
camp and garrison duty that they ma}' attend to that of the inspect- 
ing, as well in the time of action as at other times. 

The Inspector-General, as often as the Commander in Chief shall 
think fit to order, shall visit every part of the Army, and review the 
same, to see that uniformity prevails throughout the armies of these 
United States. . 

The Inspector-General shall keep books in which the returns, &c. , 
passing through his office shall be registered. He shall be charged 
with collecting, in one or more volumes, all the resolves of Congress 
and regulations of the board of war relative to the Army. 

The travelling and other incidental expenses of the execution of the 
business of the office shall be settled by the auditors with the Army, 



THE inspectoe-geneeal's depaetment. 99 

upon such principles as shall be established by the Commander in Chief, 
and paid out of the military chest. 

The Quartermaster-General shall furnish all necessary books, paper, 
&c. , for the Department. 

Each inspector shall be allowed, when the circumstances of the Army 
will permit, a marquee and common tent; each subinspector a horse- 
man's and common tent, if not provided for as officers in the line. 

All the regulations respecting the objects of this Department shall be 
finally approved and established by Congress; but, the exigency of the 
service requiring it, temporar}^ ones may from time to time be intro- 
duced by the Inspector-General, with the approbation of the Com- 
mander in Chief, and transmitted to the board of war within one 
month after their introduction, that, being examined and reported to 
Congress by them, the}^ may be rejected, altered, amended, or con- 
firmed, as Congress shall deem proper. 

Mesolved^ That Baron Steuben be, and hereby is, continued Inspector- 
General of the armies of these United States, and vested with power 
to appoint all officers necessary to carry the aforegoing plan into 
execution, they lieing first approved of by the Commander in Chief. 

Mesolred, That the assistant inspector be allowed 400 dollars per 
month, of the old emission, in addition to his pay as Adjutant-General, 
from the 1st da}^ of February last to the 1st day of October next. The 
inspectors shall be allowed, from the 1st day of February last to the 
1st day of October, 300 dollars per month, of the old emission, and 
the subinspectors shall be allowed 200 dollars per month, of the old 
emission, from the first day of February aforesaid to the first day of 
October next, in addition to the pay and subsistence to which the}^ are 
entitled by their respective ranks. 

November 9, 1780. — "Major Oliver, inspector to the 1st Massachusetts Brigade, 
having obtained leave of absence, Captain Sewall, of the 12th Massachusetts Regt., is 
appointed to do that duty in his absence." {Orders, General Headquarters, Totowa.) 

Novemher 11, 1780. — "Captain Converse is to do the duty of brigade inspector to 
the 2nd Connecticut Brigade in the absence of Major Woodbridge." {Orders, Gen- 
eral Headquarters, Totowa. ) 

Mrvemher '28. 1780. 

Ordered, That . . . the Inspector-General ... be supplied 
with the journals of Congress. . . . 

Decemher ^, 1780. 

Resolved., That instead of the additional pay allowed to officers in 
the Inspector's Department, by the resolution of Congress of the 25th 
of September last, the following sums be allowed, viz: 

To the Adjutant-General, as assistant inspector, 35 dollars per month; 

To an assistant inspector in a separate army, 30 dollars per month; 

To a lieutenant-colonel, as inspector of a division, 25 dollars per 
month; 

To a major, as inspector of a brigade, 25 dollars per month. 

January i, 1781. 

A motion was made by Mr. Sullivan, seconded by Mr. Varnum, 
That Lieutenant-Colonel William Smith be continued as subin- 



100 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

spector, with his present rank in the Army of the United States, to be 
employed as the Commander in Chief shall direct; 

On which the 3^eas and na3^s were required; and it was resolved in 
the affirmative. 

May 2, 1781. — Colonel Fleury was authorized to remain on furlough initil further 
orders. 

July 13, 1781. — "Captain Timothy Kemick, of the First Massachusetts Regt., is 
appointed to do the duty of inspector of the First Massachusetts Brigade." 

"Captain Seth Drew, of the Second Massachusetts Regt., is appointed to do the 
duty of inspector to the Second Massachusetts Brigade." 

"Captain Caleb Robinson, of the Second New Hampshire Regt., is appointed to 
do the duty of inspector to General Stark's brigade, vice Major Scott, resigned that 
office." {Orders, General Headquarters, near Bobbs Ferry.) 

July 14, 1781. — "Captain Converse, of the Second Connecticut Regt., is appointed 
to do the duty of inspector to the Second Connecticut Brigade." 

"Captain Warner, of the First Connecticut Regt., is appointed to do the duty 
of inspector to the First Connecticut Brigade. ' ' ( Orders, General Headquarters, near 
Dobbs Ferry.) 

August 13, 1781. — "Captain Bleeker, of the FirstNew York Regiment, is'appointed 
to do the duty of inspector to the light troops under the command of Colonel Scam- 
mell." (Orders, General Headquarters luo place gwenl.) 

September 6, 1781. — "Major Piatt is apj^ointed division inspector to the division 
commanded by Major-General Lincoln. ' ' ( Orders, General Headquarters, Head of Elk. ) 

September 29, 1781. — "Major AVilliam Barber is appointed inspector to the division 
commanded by Major-General the Marquis de la Fayette." {Orders, General Head- 
quarters, Secretary\s Quarter. ) 

October 6, 1781. — "The division inspectors are to mount as majors of the trenches, 
with their respective major-generals." 

"Major Gal van is appointed division inspector to the division commanded by the 
major-general, the Baron de Steuben." {Orders, General Headquarters, before York.) 

October 31, 1781. — "Captain John Bankson, of the Second Pennsylvania Regiment, 
is appointed inspector pro tem. to the troops under the orders of Major-General St. 
Clair." {Orders, General Headquarters, near York.) 

January 10, 1782. 

PLAN FOR CONDUCTING THE INSPECTOR'S DEPARTMENT. 

Resolved, That the establishment of the inspector's department by 
the resolutions of the 25th of September, 1780, and all subsequent reso- 
lutions relative thereto, be, and hereby are, repealed; and that the 
department hereafter have the following- form, powers, and privileges, 
viz: 

There shall be an Inspector-General of the armies of the United 
States, to be appointed by Congress from the general officers, and to 
be allowed one secretary in addition to the aids which he has in the 
line of the Army; the secretary shall be taken from the line and be 
entitled to the pay and emoluments of an aid-de-camp. There shall 
be one inspector for each separate armj^ to be taken from the field offi- 
cers of the line of the Army, to be allowed 30 dollars per month in 
addition to his pay and emoluments in the line. 

The Inspector-General or inspector of a separate army shall, once in 
every month, in such time, place, and mode as the Commander in Chief 
or commanding officer of a separate army shall direct, review and 
muster the troops of every denomination in service, at which review 
they shall inspect the number and condition of the men and horses, the 
discipline of the troops, the state of their arms, accoutrements, ammu 
nition, clothing, and camp equipage, and make returns thereof to the 
Commander m Chief or commanding- officer of a separate army, noting 



THE inspector-general's DEPARTMENT. 101 

the delicieneie.s, neolects, and abuses, and, if possible, the manner in 
which they happened; and at the same time pointing out the altera- 
tions and amendnicMits they may think necessary in any branch of the 
military system, duplicates of which returns shall be transmitted by 
the Commander in Chief or commanding officer of a separate army to 
the Secretary at War. 

At the end of every review the commanding officer of the corps 
reviewed shall exercise his corps in the manual and evolutions before 
the inspector, so as to enal)le him to inspect and report the discipline 
of the troops agreeably to the foregoing paragraph; and when the 
Inspector-General or inspector of a separate army tinds it necessary to 
have particular evolutions or manoeuvres performed, either by one or 
several corps, he shall furnish a plan of such evolutions to the com- 
manding officer of the army, who will approve or amend them, and 
order them executed, as he may think proper. 

At every review the commanding officer of companies and corps 
shall produce to the inspector returns of the state of their respective 
companies and corps and such other papers and vouchers relative to 
the enlistment of the men as he shall think necessary; three muster 
rolls shall also be made out by the commanding officer of each troop 
or company and signed by him, one of which shall be returned to him, 
certified by the inspector, one shall be certified and delivered to the 
regimental paymaster, to be affixed to the pay rolls, and the other shall 
be retained by the inspector. 

The Inspector-General or inspector of a separate army shall, as soon 
as possible after everj' mustei', transmit an abstract of the musters of 
the whole army in which he is serving to the commanding officer, who 
shall transmit a duplicate thereof to the Secretary at War. 

As soon as possible after every review the inspector shall report to 
the Commander in Chief or commanding officer of a separate army all 
such soldiers whom, from inability or other causes, it may be neces- 
sary to discharge or transfer to the invalids; and no discharge shall in 
future be valid unless signed by the Commander in Chief or officer 
commanding the army where such discharge is given. 

The Inspector-General or inspector of a separate army shall be 
authorized to call on the Quartermaster-General, Clothier-General, and 
field commissary of military stores, or their deputies, for returns of 
the articles which have been issued from and returned to their several 
departments by each corps, that the inspectors may see whether every 
article so delivered has been regularly and satisfactorily accounted for 
or charged to the corps, agreeably to the established regulations. 

The Inspector-General or inspector of a separate army shall be 
authorized and required to visit the military hospitals of the United 
States from time to time to examine the general state of them and the 
treatment of the patients, which he shall report to the officer command- 
ing the Army; and the director, deputy director, or superintending 
surgeon of any hospital shall furnish them with such returns as they 
may find necessary for the better execution of their office. 

The Inspector-General shall himself, previous to the opening and at 
the close of every campaign, or as often as the Commander in Chief 
shall think fit to order, visit every part of the Army to see that uni- 
formity prevails throughout the armies of the ITnited States. 

The Inspector-General and inspectors of a separate army, in the 
execution of their offices, shall be subject only to the orders of Congress, 



102 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

the Secretary of War, Commander in Chief, or commanding officer of 
a separate army; and that the inspectors may attend the better to the 
duties of their offices they shall be exempted from all other duties, 
except when the Commander in Chief or commanding officer of a 
separate army shall think proper to order otherwise. 

All the returns in the Inspector\s Department are to be made agree- 
ably to the forms which shall l)e delivered by the Inspector-General. 

Each inspector of a separate army shall be allowed to take an officer 
from the line of captains or subalterns to assist him in the duties of his 
office, wdio shall be allowed ten dollars per month in addition to his 
pay in the line. 

Hesofred, That Major-General Baron Steuben be, and hereby is, 
continued Inspector-General of the armies of these United States and 
vested with power to appoint all officers necessary to cany the fore- 
going plan into execution, they being first approved of by the Com- 
mander in Chief. 

March m, 1782. 

Resolved., That so much of the act of Congress of Januarj^ 12, 1780, 
respecting Mr. Galvan, as directs that he be employed in the inspector- 
ship, as the Commander in Chief shall direct, be, and hereby is, repealed. 

July m, 1782. 

A motion was made by Mr. Duane, seconded by Mr. Root, 
That Baron Steuben receive, until the further order of Congress, in 
addition to his pay as major-general, 80 dollars per month for his 
traveling expenses in the execution of his office of Inspector-General, 
to be computed from the 10th day of January last. 

* * * 

. . . Resolved in the affirmative. 

October 23, 1782. 

Resolved, . . . That the following be the proportion of wagons 
and bathorses to the different ranks of officers. 

* * * 

Inspector-General, for his baggage, according to his rank, and for 
his papers as the Commander in Chief may direct. 
Inspectors, one two-horse wagon. 

-X- * * 

That there shall be allowed for saddle horses: 

* * * 

Inspector-General, agreeable to his rank. 

Inspector, in addition to what he draws in the line, 1 ration. 

* * * 

December 30, 1782. 

Resolved, That the Baron de Steuben be allowed 300 dollars per 
month, in lieu of his extra pa}^ and of subsistence and forage for him- 



THE inspectok-geneeal's depaktment. 103 

self and famil}', including wagon as well as saddle horses, and that 
these allowances hereafter cease. 

February 11, i7<?5.— "Colonel Stewart, of the 2nd Pennsylvania Regt., is appointed 
inspector for the Northern Army, and Lt. Col. Ternant, of'Arniand's Partizan Corps, 
for the Southern Army. ( Orders, General Headquarters, riuladelpJila. ) 

April 16, 178J^. 

Resolved, That Congress approve of and confirm the appointment of 
Major William North ^ as inspector to the troops remaining in the 
service and pay of the United States. 

April 15, 1784- — In accepting the resignation of Major-General Baron Steuben, late 
Inspector-General, Congress resolved: "That the thanks of the United States in Con- 
gress assembled be given to Baron Steuljen for the great zeal and abilities he has 
discovered in the discharge of the several duties of his office; that a gold-hilted sword 
be presented to him as a mark of the high sense Congress entertains of his character 
and services." September 27, 1785, Congress voted him the sum of $7,000. 

Lieutenant-Colonel Mentges, having be6n appointed by General Greene inspector 
of contracts to the Southern Army, Congress, having decided that there is nothing 
in the resolve of May 7, 1782, to prevent the duties of that office being performed by 
an officer of the Army, granted Colonel Mentges an additional compensation of $100 
per month while he acted as inspector of contracts. 

March ^^, 1785. 

Resolved, That in addition to the pay and emoluments of a captain 
in the line of the Army, Major North receive the monthly pay of 30 
dollars allowed to an inspector of a separate army by the resolution of 
the loth January, 1782. 

June 9.5, 1788. 

Resolved, That the office of inspector of the troops in the service of 
the United States immediately cease and be discontinued, and that the 
Secretar}" of War report what mode may be most eligible for having 
the troops inspected for the future. 

Juhl 3, 1788. — General Washington wrote to the President of Congress " that the 
recruits at present raising in Connecticut, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania will be 
mustered and inspected previously to their marching by Mr. Stagg, who is employed 
in this office and is adequate to the business." Mr. John Stagg was the chief clerk 
of the War Department, and had been an officer of the Continental Army. He and 
Lieutenant-Colonel Mentges, inspector of contracts, performed the duties of inspector 
under the Secretary of AVar. 

STATUTES AT LARGE. 

Act of April 30, 1790 {1 ^tats., 119). 

AN ACT for regulating the ndlitary establishment of the United States. 
* * * 

Sec. -1. That the President of the United States may, from time 
to time, appoint one or two inspectors, as to him shall seem meet, to 
inspect the said troops, who shall also muster the same, and each of 
whom shall receive the like pay and subsistence as a captain, and 
be allowed ten dollars per month for forage. 



^ Major North was appointed by ^Major-General Baron Steuben, Inspector-General. 



104 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENEEAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Act of March 6, 179?. {1 Stats., 2^)- 

AN ACT making further and more effectual provision for the protection of the fron- 
tiers of the United States. 

[By section 7 of this act the Adjutant-General is to do also duty of 
inspector.] 

Act of May 30, 1796 (1 Stats.. J,B3). 

AN ACT to ascertain and fix the military establishment of the United States. 



Sec. 3. That there shall be . . . one inspector, who shall do 
the duty of Adjutant-General.^ . . . 

* * * 

Sec. 12. That the monthly pay of the officers ... of the mili- 
tary establishment be as follows: . . . Inspector . . . gen- 
erals ... in addition to their pay in the line, twenty-five dol- 
lars. . . . 

Sec. 13. That the commissioned officers aforesaid shall be entitled 
to receive for their daily subsistence the following number of rations 
of provisions: . . . Inspector . . . generals . . . , six 
rations, ... or money in lieu thereof, at the option of the said 
officers, at the posts, respectively, where the rations shall become due; 
and if, at such posts, supplies are not furnished b}" contract, then such 
allowance as shall be deemed equitable, having reference to former 
contracts and the position of the place in question. 

Sec. 11. That the officers hereinafter described shall, whenever for- 
age shall not be furnished by the public, receive at the rate of the 
following enumerated sums per month instead thereof, to wit: . . . 
Inspector . . . general . . . twelve dollars . 

■X- * * 

Sec. 23. That the general staff as authorized by this act shall con- 
tinue in service until the 4th day of next March, and no longer. 

Act of March 3, 1797 {1 Stats., 507). 

AN ACT to amend and repeal in part the act intituled "An act to ascertain and 
fix the militarv establishment of the United States." 



Sec. 2. [That there shall be one brigadier-general, who may choose] 
his . . . inspector from the captains and subalterns in the line 
(to . . . whom there shall be allowed the monthly pay of twenty- 
five dollars, in addition to his pay in the line, and two rations extraor- 
dinary per day; and, whenever forage -shall not be furnished by the 
public, to ten dollars per month in lieu thereof). . . . 



^ The Inspector-General acting as Adjutant-General is entitled under this act to |25 
in addition to his pay in the line, six rations per day, and |12 per month for forage. 



THE inspector-geneeal's depaetment. 105 

Act of If ay 22, 1798 {1 Stats., 557). 

AN ACT to amend the act intituled "An act to amend and repeal in part the act 
intituled 'An act to ascertain and fix the military establishment of the United 
States.'" 

Sec. 1. That the brigadier-general who is now, or may hereafter be, 
in the service of the United States be, and he hereby is, authorized 
to clioose his . . . inspector . . . from the commissioned 
officers in the line of the Army; and tliat so much of the second sec- 
tion of the act intituled ""An act to amend and repeal in part the act 
intituled 'An act to ascertain and fix the militar}^ establishment of the 
United States ' " as confines the choice of . . . inspector to cap- 
tains and subalterns of the line be, and the same is hereby, repealed. 

Sec. 2. That the accounting officers of the Treasury shall allow to 
Major Gushing the monthly pay, rations, forage, and allowances for 
the same as established b}^ law for an inspector during the time he has 
acted in said capacity by appointment of General Wilkinson. 

Act of May 28, 1798 {1 Stats., 558). 

AN ACT authorizing the President of the United States to raise a provisional army. 

* * * " 

Sec. 6. That whenever the President shall deem it expedient he is 
hereby empowered, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
to appoint an Inspector-General, with the rank of major-general; and 
the . . . Inspector-General shall ... be entitled to the fol- 
lowing pay and emoluments, viz, one hundred and sixty-six dollars 
monthly pay, twenty dollars monthly allowance for forage, when the 
same is not provided by the United States, and fifteen rations per day, 
or mone}" in lieu thereof, at the current price; and shall be, and he is 
hereby, authorized to appoint two aids, each of whom shall have the 
rank, pay. and emoluments of a major. . . . And the President 
is hereby authorized, alone, to appoint, from time to time, when he 
shall judge proper, assistant inspectors to every separate portion of 
the Army, consisting of one or more divisions, who shall be deputy 
adjutant-generals thereof, respectively, and who shall be taken from the 
line of the Army, and allowed, in addition to their pay, eight dollars 
per month; and, likewise, to appoint inspectors and subinspectors to 
each brigade and corps of every description, at his discretion, taking 
them from the line of the Army, and they shall each receive, while 
acting in said capacity, an additional pay of six dollars per month. 

* * * 

Sec. 7. That in case the President shall judge . . . it expedient 
to appoint ... an Inspector-General ... in the recess of 
the Senate, he is hereby authorized to make . . . said appoint- 
ments and grant commissions thereon, which shall expire at the end 
of the next session of the Senate thereafter. 

* * * 

Sec. 9. That the . . . Inspector-General . . . who may 
be appointed b}^ virtue of this act shall, respectively, continue in coni- 
mission during such term only as the President shall judge requisite 
for the public service. . . . 



106 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENEEAL STAFF OF U. S. AEMY. 

Sec. 10. That no . . . staff officer who shall be appointed by 
virtue of this act shall be entitled to receive pa}- or emoluments until 
he shall be called into actual service, nor for any longer time than he 
shall continue therein. 



Act of Jul 1/ 16, 1798^ (1 Stats., 604). 

AN ACT to augment the Arm}- of the Ignited States, and for other purposes. 
->r -;v * 

Sec. 3. That there shall be ... one Inspector-General, with 
the rank, pay, and emoluments of a major-general, and two aids-de- 
camp; . . . two assistant inspectors (who shall l)e taken from the 
line of the Army). . . . 

Sec. 1. . . . The aids-de-camp and assistant inspectors shall 
each be entitled to twenty-four dollars monthl}^, in -addition to their 
pay in the line, and to four rations of provisions each for their daily 
subsistence; and whenever forage shall not be furnished by the public 
to ten dollars per month in lieu thereof. 

-X- * * 

Act of March 3, 1799 {1 Stats., 71^9). 

AN ACT for the better organizing of the troops of the United States, and for other 

purposes. 
* * * 

Sec. 6. That when any officer shall be detached from a regiment to 
serve . . . as assistant or other inspector . . . the place of 
such officer in his regiment shall be supplied, b}^ promotion or new 
appointment, or both, as may be requisite; but the officer detached 
shall, nevertheless, retain his station in his regiment and shall rank 
and rise therein in the same manner as if he had not been detached. 

Sec. 7. That no officer shall be appointed as the inspector of a divi- 
sion who when appointed shall be of a rank higher than that of major, 
or as the inspector of a brigade who when appointed shall be of a rank 
higher than that of captain, or as the aid of a major-general who when 
appointed shall be of a rank higher than that of a captain. . . . 
* * * 

Sec. 13. That to any army of the United States other than that in 
which the Inspector-General shall serve there shall be a deputy inspector- 
general, who shall be a field officer, and who, in addition to his other 
emoluments, shall be entitled to fifty dollars per month, which shall 
be in full compensation for his extra services and traveling expenses; 
and that to every division of an army there shall be a division inspector, 
who, in addition to his other emoluments, shall be entitled to thirty 
dollars per month, which shall be in full compensation for his extra 
services and traveling expenses; and that to every brigade there shall 
be a brigade inspector, who, in addition to his other emoluments, shall 
be entitled to twenty-four dollars per month, which shall be in full 

^Section 9 authorizes the appointment of an inspector of artillery, taken from the 
line of artillerists and engineers, to be allowed $30 per month in addition to his pay- 
in the line, 4 rations per day and $10 per month for forage when not furnished in 
kind. 



THE inspector-general's DEPARTMENT. 107 

compensiition for his extra services and traveling expenses; each of 
which officers shall be chosen by the Inspector-General from among the 
regimental officers; the deputy inspector-general to be in every case 
approved by the general commanding the arm^^ to which he shall be 
annexed. 

Sec. 14. That the Adjutant-General of the Army shall be ex officio 
assistant inspector-general, and that (n'ery deputy inspector-general 
shall be e.f- officio deputy adjutant-general, and shall perform the duties 
of adjutant-general in the army to which he shall be annexed. 

-X- -X- -X- 

Sec. 26. That there shall be allowed to the Inspector-General, in 
addition to his allowance as major-general, and in full compensation 
for extra services and expenses in the execution of his office, the sum 
of fifty dollars per month, and that he shall lie allowed a secretary, to 
be appointed by himself, with the pay and emoluments of a captain. 

Act of March 16. 180^^ (^ Sfaf^., 132). 

AN ACT fixing the military peace establishment of tlie United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. That there shall be . . . one Adjutant and Inspector of 
the Army, to be taken from the line of field officers. 

* -X- * 

Sec. 1. That the monthly pay of the officers ... be as follows, 
to wit: ... To the Adjutant and Inspector of the Army, thirty- 
eight dollars in addition to his pay in the line. 



Act o/Mtrch m, 1808 (2 Stat^., 4.SI). 

AN ACT to raise for a limited time an additional military force. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. That when in the opinion of the President of the United 
States a suitable proportion of the troops authorized by this act shall 
be raised, there may be appointed . . . two brigade inspectors; 
. . . the brigade inspectors appointed under this act shall be taken 
from the line. 

Sec. 1. That the compensation of the officers . . . shall be, 
viz: . . . each brigade inspector, thirty dollars per month, in 
addition to his pay in the line; . . . and to each six dollars per 
monthfor forage when not furnished: . . . I^ro/jided, The o facers 
. . . furnish their own horses and accoutrements, and actualh' keep 
in service the aforesaid number of horses to entitle them to the afore- 
going allowance for forage, or its equivalent in money. 
* * * 

Sec. 8. That in the recess of the Senate the President of the United 
States is hereby authorized to appoint all or any of the officers, other 
than the general officers, proper to be appointed under this act, which 
appointments shall be submitted to the Senate, at the next session, for 
their advice and consent. 



^ Under this act the offices of Inspector-General and Adjutant-General were united. 



108 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Sec. 9. That every . . . .staff officer to be appointed in virtue 
of this act shall be a citizen of the United States, or some one of the 
Territories thereof. 

Act o/Ajjn'l Se, 1810 {2 Stats., 592). 

AN ACT regulating the post-otiice establishment. 

* -x- * 

Sec. 24. That letters and packets to and from the following officers 
of the United States shall be received and conveyed by post free of 
postage. . . . The Inspector ... of the Arm}-. . . . 



Aet (rfJanua/ry 11. 1812 (^2 Stats.. 671). 

AN ACT to raise an additional military force. 

* * * 

Sec. 4. That there shall ])e appointed . . . one Inspector- 
General, . . . with the rank, pay, and emoluments of a ])rigadier- 
general. . . . The said Inspector-General shall be allowed two 
assistant inspectors, to be taken from the line of the Arm}^, each of 
whom shall receive, while acting* in said capacity, the same pay and 
emoluments as by this act are allowed to a lieutenant-colonel. . . . 

Sec. 5. That when an officer is detached to serve as . . . an 
assistant to the . . . Inspector-General on the appointment of a 
general officer ... he shall not thereby lose his rank. 

* -X- * 

Sec. 25. That no . . . staff officer, who may be appointed by 
virtue of this act, shall be entitled to receive any pay or emoluments 
until he shall be called into actual service, nor for any longer time 
than he shall continue therein. 

Aet of May 16. 1812 {2 Stats., 735). 

AN ACT making further provision for the Army of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. That the President of the United States be, and he hereby 
is, authorized to appoint, from the captains and subalterns of the line 
of the Army, so many su])inspcctors as the service may require, not 
exceeding one to each brigade; and such subinspectors shall each 
receive twenty-four dollars per month in addition to his pay in the line. 



Act of July 6. 1812 (2 Stats., 782). 

AN ACT respecting the pay of the Army of the United States. 

That . . . to a . . . brigade inspector and adjutant there 
shall be allowed forage for one horse only, or in lieu thereof ten dol- 
lars per month. 



THE INSPECTOR-GENEEAL's DEPARTMENT. 109 

Act ofJtihj 6, mm {2 Stats., 784). 

AN ACT making further provisions for the Army of the United States, and for other 

purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 2. That to any army of the United States, other than that in 
which the . . . Inspector-General ... of the Army shall 
serve, it shall be lawful for the President to appoint . . . one 
deputy inspector-general, . . . who shall be taken from the line 
of the Arni}^, and who shall each, in addition to his pay and other 
emoluments, be entitled to fifty dollars per month, which shall be in 
full compensation for his extra services. And that there shall be, to 
each of the foregoing deputies, such number of assistant deputies (not 
exceeding three to each department) as the pu])lic service may require, 
who shall, in like manner, be taken from the line, and who shall, each, 
be entitled to thirty dollars per month, in addition to his pay and other 
emoluments, which shall be in full compensation for his extra services: 
. . . And provided also, That the President of the United States 
be, and he is hereby, authorized to appoint any of the officers named 
in this act during the recess of the Senate, to be submitted to the 
Senate at their next meeting for their advice and consent. 

Sec. 3. That all letters and packages to and from the . 
Inspector-General shall be free from postage. 



Act of March. 3, 1813 {2 Stats., 819). 

AN ACT for the better organization of the general staff of the Army of the United 

States. 

That the . . . Inspector-General's . . . departments shall 
consist of the following officers, that is to say, an Adjutant and Inspector- 
General, with the rank, pay, and emolument of a brigadier-general, 
and not exceeding . . . eight inspectors-general, sixteen assistant 
in.speetors-general. 

Sec. 2, That the President of the United States be, and is hereby, 
authorized, if he shall deem it expedient, to assign one of the brigadiers- 
general to the principal Army of the United States, who shall, in such 
case, act as Adjutant and Inspector-General, and as chief of staff of 
such Army. . . 

Sec. 3. That . . . all the other inspectors-general 
shall have the brevet rank and the pay and emolimients of a colonel 
of infantry; the . . . assistant inspectors-general . . . shall 
have the l)revet rank and the pay and emoluments of a major of 
cavalry. . . . 

Sec. 4. That . . . the assistant inspectors-general . . . 
shall betaken from the line. The . . . inspectors -general . . . 
may be taken from the line or not, as the President m-ay deem 
expedient. 

Sec. 11. That all letters and packets to and from the Adjutant and 
Inspector-General, . . . inspectors-general, . . . which relate 
to their official duties, shall be free from postage. 



110 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Act of March 3, 1815 {3 Stats., 2^). 

AN ACT fixing the military peace establishment of the United States. 
* * * 

Sec. 3. That there shall be . . . four brigade inspectors, 
. . . The brigade inspectors appointed under this act shall be 
taken from the line. 



May 17, IS 15. . . . And the President of the United States has further judged 
proper, that, in addition to the provision for a general staff, which is specifically- 
made by the act of Congress, certain officers shall be retained, under the special 
authority given by the act, until circumstances will permit of their discharge, with- 
out material iniurv to the service; and that the following shall be the 

CiENERAL STAFF. 



An adjutant and Inspector-General, to be provisionally retained. 
Four brigade inspectors. 



{General Orders, A. and I. G.'s Office.) 

Act of April U, 1816 {3 Stats., 297). 

AN AC'T for organizing the general staff and making further provisions for the 
Army of the United States. 

That, in addition to the act providing- for a military peace establish- 
ment, the provisions of the act of March the third, one thousand eight 
hundred and thirteen, for the better organization of the general stall' 
be, and the same are hereby, so far established that the general stall 
shall in future consist of one adjutant and inspector general of the 
Army, and . . . one inspector-general . . . and an assistant 
, . . to every brigade, which shall supersede the brigade . . . 
inspectors now existing, 

* * * 

Act of April U, 1818 (3 Stats., 1^26). 
AN ACT regulating the staff of the Army. 



Sec. 5. That the pay and emoluments of the inspector-generals of 
divisions be, and is hereby, raised to be equal to the pay and emolu- 
ments of the adjutant-generals of division. 



Act of March 2, 1821 (3 Stats., 615). 

AN ACT to reduce and fix the military peace establishment of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 6. That there shall be . . , two inspectors-general, with 
the rank, pay, and emoluments of colonels of cavalry. 



THE IWSPECTOE-GENEBAL's DEPARTMENT. Ill 

Act of March 3, 1825 (^ Stats., 127). 

AN ACT to authorize the sale of unserviceable ordnance, arms, and military stores. 
•X- * * 

Sec. 2, That the inspection or survey of the unserviceable stores 
shall be made b}- an inspector-general or such other officer or officers 
as the Secretar}" of War may appoint for that purpose. . . . 

Act of 3f arch 2, 1827 {Jp Stats., 238). 
AN ACT amendatory of the act regulating the Post-Office Department. 

-X- * -X- 

Sec. 4. That the . . . inspectors-general . . . be author- 
ized to frank, and to receive letters and packets by post free of 
postage. . . . 

* * * 

Act of July S, 1838 {5 Stats., 256). 

AN ACT to increase the present military establishment of the United States, and 

for other j^urposes. 
* * x 

Sec. T. The Presidentis authorized to appoint two assistant adjutants- 
general, with the brevet rank of major, and four, with the brevet rank 
of captain, who shall be taken from the line of the army, and in addi- 
tion to their own shall perform the duties of assistant inspectors- 
general when the circumstances of the service may require. 

* * * 

Act of August 23, 184,2 {5 Stats., 512). 

AN ACT respecting the organization of the Army, and for other purposes. 

* -x * 

Sec. 4. That within one month of the passage of this act the offices 
of one inspector-general . . . shall be abolished. . . . 

Act ofJamtarij 12, 18^6 {9 Stats., 2). 

AN ACT to repeal the act which abolished the office of one of the inspectors-general 
of the Army, and to revive and establish said office. 

* That so much of the fourth section of an act approved the twenty- 
third day of August, one thousand eight hundred and forty-two, entitled 
"An act respecting the organization of the Army, and for other pur- 
poses," as directs that the office of one inspector-general of the Army 
shall be, and the same is hereby, repealed; and all acts and parts of 
acts so repealed shall be, and the same hereby are, revived and con- 
tinued in force. 

Act of August 3, 1861 {12 Stats., 287). 

AN ACT providing for the better organization of the military establishment. 
-X * -x 

Sec. 2. That the President be, and he is hereb}^, authorized to 
appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, in addition 



112 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

to the number authorized by existing laws and in accordance with 
existing regulations, five assistant inspectors-general, with the rank 
and pay of majors of cavalry . . . , to have the pay, rank, and 
allowance and perform the duties of similar officers in the present 
military establishment. . . 



Aet ofAugvst 6, 1861 {P2 Stats., SIT). 

AN ACT to promote the efficiency of the Engineer and Topograi^hical Engineer 
Corps, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 4.^ That the President of the United States is hereby author- 
ized to appoint two additional inspectors-general for the United States 
Army, said inspectors-general to have the same rank and receive the 
same pay and allowances as now provided by law for inspectors- 
general. 

•st -K" ^ 

Act of July 17, 1869. {12 Stats., 597). 

AN ACT to amend the act calUng forth the niihtia to execute tlie laws of the Union, 
suppress insurrection, and repel invasion, approved February twenty-eighth, seven- 
teen hundred and ninety-five, and the act amendatory thereof, and for other 
purposes. 

* -X- * 

Sec. 10. That each army corps shall have . . . one assistant 
inspector-general, who shall bear, . . . , the rank of lieutenant- 
colonel, and who shall be assigned from the army or volunteer force 
by the President. . . . 



Act of July 28, 1866 {U Stats., 332). 
AN ACT to increase and fix the military peace establishment of the United States. 

* -X- * 

Si':c. 11. That there shall be four inspectors-general of the Army,^ 
with the rank, pay, and emoluments of colonels of cavalry; three 
assistant inspectors-general, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of 
lieutenant-colonels of cavalry, and two assistant inspectors-general, 
with the rank, pay, and emoluments of majors of cavalry. 

* * * 

Act of March 3, 1869 {15 Stats., 31^. 

AN AC'T making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy, and for other purposes. 
* * * 

Sec. 0. That, until otherwise directed by law, there shall be no new 
appointments and no promotions . . . m the Inspector-General's 
Department. . . 



^ Section 4 of this act is repealed by section 8 of act of same date (12 Stats., 318). 

^ Insjiectors-general to designate, from time to time, what articles shall be kept by 
the Subsistence Department for sale to enlisted men. Provision repealed ;n section 
1144, Revised Statutes. 



THE INSPECTOR-GENERAL S DEPARTMENT. 113 

Act of June 8, 1872 {17 Stats., 338). 

AN ACT to authorize an appointment in the Inspector-General's Department. 

That the President be, and hereb}' is, authorized to nominate, and, 
b}^ and with the adv^ice and consent of the Senate, to appoint Nelson H. 
Davis, of the Inspector-Generars Department, to the rank and place 
therein to which he is entitled, and wdiich he would have held had the 
law of promotions by seniority under the act of March third, eighteen 
hundred and fifty-one and the army regulations of eighteen hundred 
and sixty-three been carried out: Provided^ That no officer in said 
department shall, by this act, be reduced from his present grade, nor 
shall any pay or allowance be made to any officer under it, except 
from the date of his confirmation: And provided further. That no pro- 
motion to the grade of inspector-general shall hereafter be made until 
the number of inspectors-general is reduced to four. 

Act of March 3, 1873 {17 Stats., 582). 

AN ACT to provide for the estabUshment of a mihtary prison, and for its government. 

* * * 

Sec. 5. That one of the inspectors of the Army shall, at least once 
in three months, visit the prison for the purpose of examining into 
books and all the affairs thereof, and ascertain whether the laws, rules, 
and regulations relating thereto are complied with, the officers are 
competent and faithful, and the convicts properly governed and 
employed, and at the same time treated with humanity and kindness. 
And it shall be the duty of the inspector, at once, to make full report 
thereof to the Secretary of War. 

* * * 

Act of June 16, 187 J^ {18 Stats., 77). 
AN ACT to authorize an appointment in the Inspector-General's. Department. 

Whereas a vacancy of lieutenant-colonel in the Inspector-General's 
Department of the Army originated on the thirteenth of June, eighteen 
hundred and sixty-seven, to which Major Absalom Baird was entitled 
to be promoted under the laws then in existence, but from which he 
was excluded by reason of another appointment in said department 
previously made, and whereas an act of Congress approved June 
eighth, eighteen hundred and seventy-two, which was passed with the 
intention of rectifying this wrong, has failed to secure to Major Baird 
his just rights: Therefore, 

That the President be, and hereby is, authorized to nominate and 
promote A])salom Baird to 1)6 lieutenant-colonel and assistant inspector- 
general, to date from June thirteenth, eighteen hiuidred and sixty- 
seven; but no pay or allowance shall be made to him for any time 
prior to the passage of this act. 

Act of June 23, 187 J^ {18 Stats., 2U)- 
AN ACT reorganizing the several staff corps of the Army. 

That the Inspector-GeneraFs Department shall consist of one colonel, 
two lieutenant-colonels, and two majors, with the rank, pay, and emolu- 
ments of officers of said grades; that the Secretary of War may, in 
addition, detail officers of the line, not to exceed four, to act as 
inspectors-general: Provided, That officers of the line detailed as acting 

S. Doc. 229 8 



114 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

inspectors-general shall have all the allowances of cavalry officers of 
their respective grades; and no new appointment shall be made in the 
Inspector-General's Department until tlie number of inspectors-general 
is reduced to five. 

* * * 

Sec, 6. That no officer now in service shall be reduced in rank or 
mustered out b}^ reason of any provision of law herein made reducing 
the number of officers in any department or corps of the staff. 

* * * 

REVISED STATUTES— SECOND EDITION— 1878. 

•X- * * 

Sec. 1094. The Army of the United States shall consist of — 

* * * 

An Inspector-General's Department. 

* * * 

Sec. 1131. There shall be five inspectors-general of the Armj^ witii 
the rank of colonel of cavalry; provided no promotion shall be made 
until the number of inspectors-general is reduced to four; one assistant 
inspector-general, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel of cavalry; and 
two assistant inspectors-general, with the rank of major of cavahy. 

* * * 

Sec. 1194. Until otherwise directed by law there shall be no new 
appointments and no promotions in the departments ... of 
inspector-general. 

* * * 

Sec. 1348. One of the inspectors of the Army shall, at least once in 
three months, visit the [Military] prison for the purpose of examining 
into the books and all the affairs thereof, and ascertaining whether the 
laws, rules, and regulations relating thereto are complied with, the 
officers are competent and faithful, and the convicts properly governed 
and employed, and at the same time treated with humanity and kind- 
ness. And it shall be the duty of the inspector, at once, to make full 
report thereof to the Secretary of War. 

* * * 

STATUTES AT LARGE. 

Act ofDecemlcr 12, 1878 {20 Stats., 257). 
AN ACT establishing the rank of the senior inspector-general. 

That from and after the passage of this act the rank of the senior 
inspector-general of the United States Army shall be brigadier-gen- 
eral; but no pay or allowances shall be made to said officer other than 
from the date of appointment under this act: And provided, That 
nothing herein enacted shall authorize any increase in the number or 
the rank of the other officers of the Inspector-General's Department 
as fixed by the first section of the act of June twenty-third, eighteen 
hundred and seventy-four. 

Act of March 3, 1883 {22 Stats., 564). 

AN ACT prescribing regulations for the Soldiers' Home located at Washington, in 
the District of ColumlMa, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 2. That the Inspector-General of the Army shall, in person, 
once in each year thoroughly inspect the Home, its records, accounts, 



THE inspectoe-geneeal's depaetment. 115 

management, discipline, and sanitary condition, and shall report 
thereon in writing, together with such suggestions as he desires to 
make. 



Act ofFehruarij 5, 1885 {23 Stats., 297). 

AN ACT relative to the Inspector-General's Department of the Army. 

That the Inspector-General's Department of the Army shall here- 
after consist of one Inspector-General, with the rank, pay, and emolu- 
ments of brigadier-general; two inspectors-general, with the rank, 
pay, and emoluments of colonel; two inspectors-general, with the rank, 
pay, and emoluments of lieutenant-colonel; and two inspectors-general, 
with the rank, pay, and emoluments of major: Provided, That the offices 
restored to the Inspector-General's Department, or added thereto, 
by this act, shall be filled by promotion of the officers now in that 
Department; and that thereafter appointments to fill vacancies in the 
Inspector-General's Department, and promotions therein, shall be made 
in conformity with sections eleven hundred and twenty-nine, eleven 
hundred and ninety-three, and twelve hundred and four of the Revised 
Statutes of the United States, and in the same manner as in the other 
stafl:' departments of the Army. And all laws or parts of laws conflict- 
ing with this act are hereby repealed. 

Act of January 19, 1891 {26 Stats., 722). 

AN ACT to amend sections thirteen hundred and forty-six and thirteen hundred and 
forty-eight of the Revised Statutes of the United States, in reference to the visita- 
tion and inspection of the Military Prison and examination of its accounts and 
government. 

* * * 

"Sec. 1348. One of the inspectors-general of the Army shall, at 
least once each year, visit the prison for the purpose of examining into 
the books and all the affairs thereof, and ascertaining whether the laws, 
rules, and regulations relating thereto are complied with, the officers 
are competent and faithful, and the convicts properly governed and 
employed, and at the same time treated with humanity and kindness. 
And it shall be the duty of the inspector, at once, to make full report 
thereof to the Secretary of War." 



Act of August 6, 189 J^ {28 Stats., 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-five, and for other purposes. 



FOR TAY OF THE GENERAL STAFF. 

. . . Pi'ovlded, That . . . hereafter all appointments to fill 
vacancies in the lowest grade in the . . . Inspector-General's . . . 
Department, respectively, shall be made from the next lowest grade 
in the line of the Army. 



116 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENEEAL STAFF OF U. S. AEMY. 

Act o/Angmf IS, 1894. i^S Stats., 372). 

AN ACT making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the 
fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-five, and for other 

purposes. 

* * * 

NATIONAL HOME FOR DISABLED VOLUNTEER SOLDIERS. 

* * * 

That hereafter, once in each fiscal .vear, the Secretary of War shall 
cause a thorough inspection to be made of the National Home for Dis- 
abled Volunteer Soldiers, its records, disbursements, management, 
discipline, and condition, such inspection to be made by an officer of 
the Inspector-General's Department, who shall report thereon in writ- 
ing, and said report shall be transmitted to Congress at the first session 

thereafter. 

* * * 

Act of April '2%, 1898 {30 Stats., 361). 

AN ACT to provide for temporarily increasing the military establishment of the 
United States in time of war, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 10. That the staff of the commander of an army corps shall 
consist of . . . one inspector-general, . . . who shall have 
the rank of lieutenant-colonel; . . . the staff' of the com- 
mander of a division shall consist of . . . one inspector-general, 
. . . who shall have . . . the rank of major. . , . 

Act of July 7, 1898 (30 Stats., 720). 

AN ACT to provide for a temporary increase in the Inspector-denerars Department 

of the Army. 

That the President is authorized, by and with the advice and consent 
of the Senate, to appoint one inspector-general with the rank of colonel, 
one inspector-general with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and one 
inspector-general with the rank of major: Proridrd, That the vacan- 
cies created in the grade of colonel and lieutenant-colonel by this act 
shall be filled l)y the promotion of officers noAv in the Inspector-General's 
Department according to seniority, and that upon the mustering out of 
the volunteer forces and the reduction of the Regular Arni}^ to a peace 
basis no appointments sliall be made in the Inspector-General's Depart- 
ment until the number of officers in each grade in that department shall 
be reduced to the number now authorized by law. 

Act of March 2, 1899 {30 Stats., 977). 

AN ACT for increasing the efficiency of the Army of the United States, and for other 

purposes. 

That from and after the date of approval of this act the Army of the 
United States shall consist of . . . an Inspector-General's Depart- 
ment. 



THE inspeotoe-geneeal's depaetment. 117 

Sec. 6. That the . . . luspector-General's departments shall 
consist of the number of officers now in those departments, respectively: 
Provided^ That vacancies in the grade of major occurring in either 
department shall hereafter be tilled from captains in the line of the 
Army: And ])rovlded fwrtlier^ That all such captains who have evinced 
marked aptitude in the command of troops shall be reported by their 
regimental commanders to the War Department and snail be entitled 
to compete for any such vacancy under such system of examination as 
the President shall prescribe. 

* * * 

Sec. 14. That the President is hereby authorized to continue in 
service, or to appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
officers of the volunteer staff as follows: 

* * * 

Three inspectors-general with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and six 
inspectors-general with the rank of major. 



Act of February ^, 1901 {31 Stats., ). 

AN ACT To increase the efficiency of the permanent military establishment of the 

United States. 

That from and after the approval of this Act the Army of the 
United States . . . shall consist of . . . an Inspector- 
General's Department. . . . 

-X- -X- * 

Sec. 14. That the Inspector-GeneraPs Department shall consist of 
one Inspector-General with the rank of brigadier-general, four inspect- 
ors-general with the rank of colonel, four inspectors-general with the 
rank of lieutenant-colonel, and eight inspectors-general with the rank 
of major: Provided, That all vacancies created or caused by this section 
shall be tilled, as far as possible, by promotion according to seniority 
of officers of the Inspector-General's Department. 

* * * 

Sec. 26. That so long as there remain any officers holding* perma- 
nent appointments in the . . . Inspector-General's Department, 
including those appointed to original vacancies in the grades of cap- 
tain and tirst lieutenant under the provisions of sections sixteen, 
seventeen, twenty-one, and twenty-four of this Act, they shall be 
promoted according to seniority in the several grades, as now provided 
by law, and nothing herein contained shall be deemed to apply to 
vacancies which can be filled by such promotions or to the periods for 
which the officers so promoted shall hold their appointments, and when 
any vacancy, except that of the chief of the department or corps, 
shall occur, which can not be filled by promotion as provided in this 
section, it shall be filled by detail from the line of the Army, and no 
more permanent appointments shall be made in those departments or 
corps after the original vacancies created by this Act shall have been 
filled. Such details shall be made from the grade in which the vacan- 
cies exist, under such system of examination as the President may 
from time to time prescribe. 



118 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

All officers so detailed shall serve for a period of four years, at the 
expiration of which time they shall return to duty with the line, and 
officers below the rank of lieiitenant-colonel shall not again be ehgible 
for selection in any staff department until they shall have served two 

years with the line. .,•<.<. 4. «> 

That when vacancies shall occur in the position of chief of any stall 
corps or department the President may appoint to such vacancies, by 
and with the advice and consent of the Senate, officers of the Army at 
large not below the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and who shall hold office 
f o Aerms of four years. When a vacancy in the position of chief of any 
staff' corps or department is tilled by the appointment of an officer 
below the rank now provided by law for said office, said chief shall, 
while so serving, have the same rank, pay, and allowances now pro- 
vided for the chief of such corps or department. And any officer now 
holding office in any corps or department who shall hereafter serve as 
chief ol' a staff corps or department and shall subsequently be retired, 
shall be retired with the rank, pay, and allowances authorized by law 
for the retirement of such corps or department chief: Provided, That 
so long as there remain in service officers of any staff corps or depart- 
ment holding permanent appointments, the chief of such staff corps or 
departmant shall be selected from the officers so remaining therein. 

Sec. 27. That each position vacated by officers of the line, trans- 
ferred to any department of the staff for tours of service under this 
Act, shall be filled by promotion in the line until the total number 
detailed equals the number authorized for duty in each staff depart- 
ment. Thereafter vacancies caused by details from the line to the 
staff shall be filled bv officers returning from tours of staff duty. If 
under the operation of this Act the number of officers returned to any 
particular arm of the service at any time exceeds the number authorized 
by law in any grade, promotions' to that grade shall cease until the 
number has been reduced to that authorized. 

* * * 

Act ofMa/rch ^, 1901 {31 Stats., —). 

AN ACT making appropriation for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending 
Jime thirtieth, nineteen hundred and two. 

* * * 

Provided, That upon the occurrence of a vacancy in the grade of 
colonel in the Inspector-General's Department after the present lieu- 
tenant-colonels therein shall have been promoted or retired, such 
vacancy shall not be filled, and thereafter the number of officers author- 
ized for that department shall be as follows: One Inspector-General 
with the rank of brigadier-general; three inspectors-general with the 
rank of colonel; four inspectors-general with the rank of lieutenant- 
colonel, and nine inspectors-general with the rank of major. 

* * * 

Provided, That appointments to fill original vacancies in the lowest 
grade in the . . . Inspector-General's Department . . . may 
be made from officers of volunteers commissioned since April twenty- 
first, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight. . . . 



ly.-THE JUDGE-ADYOCATE-GENERAUS DEPARTMENT. 



119 



THE JLDGE-ADYOCATE-GENERAL'S DEPARTMENT. 



The offices of " Judge- Advocate-General " and " Judge- Advocate of 
the Arm}"" (the lirst named, created in 1775, when William Tudor, a 
law pupil of John Adams and a leading counselor of Boston, was 
elected to that position) lapsed in 1802, the act of March 16, of that 
year, limiting the line of the Army to three regiments. The last 
named was revived by the act of January 11, 1812, and again discon- 
tinued on the reorganization of the Army in 1821. The act of March 2, 
1819, authorized the President to appoint a suitable person as Judge- 
Advocate of the Army. The Bureau of Military Justice was created 
June 20, 1861, but b}^ the act of July 5, 1881, it was, with the corps 
of judge-advocates, consolidated under the title of "Judge-Advocate- 
General's Department." 

1775-1802. 

July 29, 1775.— Lieut. Col. William Tudor. 

Apr. 10, 1777. — Lieut. Col. John Lawrence. 

July 9, 1782. — James Innis, esq. 

Sept. 18, 1782.— Maj. Richard Howell. 

Oct. 2, 1782. — Lieut. Thomas Edwards, Ninth Massachusetts. 

June 2, 1797. — Capt. Campbell Smith, Fourth Infantry. 

1812-1821. 

Northern Division. 

Sept. 26, 1812.— Maj. Thomas Gales ( ). 

Aug. 6, 1814. — Henry Wheaton, esq. (New York). 

1817.— Rider H. AVinder, esq. (Maryland). 

1818. — Samuel H. Storrow, esq. (Massachusetts). 

Southern J}ivision. . 

Mar. 18, 1813. — Everett A. Bancker, esq. (New York) . 
July 9, 1814.— Rider H. Winder, esq. (Maryland) . 

1815. — James T. Dent, esq. (Georgia). 

1818. — Samuel H. Storrow, esq. (Massachusetts). 
Sept. 10, 1818. — Stockley D. Hays, esq. (Tennessee). 

1849-1901. 

INIar. 2, 1849. — Bvt. iNIaj. John F. Lee, captain of ordnance (Virginia). 

July 31, 1862.— Maj. Levi C. Turner (New York) . 

Sept. 3, 1862.— Col. (Brig. Gen. June 22, 1864) Joseph Holt (District of Columbia) . 

Dec. 1, 1875. — Brig. Gen. William McK. Dunn (Indiana) . 

Feb. 18, 1881.— Brig. Gen. David G. Swaim (Ohio). 

Jan. 3, 1895.— Brig. Gen. Guido N. Lieber (New York).. 

121 



THE JUDGE-ADVOCATE-GENERAL'S DEPARTMENT. 



JOURNALS OF THE AMERICAN (CONTINENTAL) CONGRESS. 

Jnly 29, lll-'j. 

ResoUk'd, That the pa}" of the. . . . be . . . 

->:- -X- * 

Judge- Advocate, twenty dollars per do. (month). 

•K- -X- % 

William Tud'or, esq., was elected Judge-Advocate of the Army. 

July 30, 1775. — "William Tudor, esq., being appointed Judge- Advocate of the 
Continental Army, he is in all things relative to his otfice to be acknowledged and 
obeyed as such." {('hxlers, General Headquarters, Cambridge.) 

Septemhei' '21, 1776. 

Resolved., . . . That the pay of the Judge-Advocate in the 
Army in the Massachusetts Bay, for himself and his clerk, be lifty 
dollars per month from the time of his appointment. 

January 7, 1776. — "That no mistake in regard to the said articles [new Articles of 
War] may possibly happen, each book is . . . countersigned upon the title 
page by William Tudor, esq. , Judge- Advocate of the Army of the United Colonies. ' ' 
( Orders, General Headquarters, Cambridge. ) 

May 6, 1776. 

Resolved, That John Taylor be appointed judge-advocate to the 
continental troops in the colony of Virginia. 

August 10, 1776. 

Resolved, That William Tudor, Judge-Advocate-General, have the 
rank of lieutenant-colonel in the Army of the United States. 

Septemhe7' 20, 1776. 

Congress resumed the consideration of the Articles of War, which, 
being debated by paragraphs, were agreed to, as follows: 

* * * 

SECTION XIV. 

* * * 

Art. 3, The Judge-Advocate-General, or some person deputed by 
him, shall prosecute in the name of the United States of America. 

* «• * 

123 



124 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Octoler M, 1776. 

Resolved., . . . That the rations allowed to the several officers 
on the staff in the Army of the United States, not heretofore settled, 
be as follows: 

To the . . . deputy judge-advocate, 6 rations, . . 

April 10, 1777. — " John Lawrence, esq., is appointed judge-advocate in the room 
of Wilham Tudor, esq., who has resigned." {Orders, General Headquarters, Morris- 
totvn. ) 

April 11, 1777. 

Resolved., . . . That the pay of the judge-advocate be raised to 
60 dollars a month. 

May 27, 1777. 

Resolved, That if General Gates, before General Schuyler's arrival 
at Albany, shall have appointed a . . . deputy judge-advocate for 
the northern army, the said appointments be confirmed; if not, that 
General Schuyler be empowered to make these appointments. 

June 6, 1777. 

Resolved, That the deputy judge-advocate in the northern arm}^ and 
the deputy judge-advocate of the division of the Army now at Peek's- 
Kill, be allowed the rank, pay, and rations of captains. 

November 20, 1777. — " Lieutenant John Marshall is, by the Judge-Advocate-General, 
appointed deputy judge-advocate in the Army of the United States." {Orders, Ge)i.- 
eral Headquarters, White-Marsh. ) 

February 5, 1778. — To assist and cooperate with the judge-advocate in 'conducting 
the trial of general officers who were in the Northern Department when Ticon- 
deroga and Mount Independence were evacuated, Congress authorized the appoint- 
ment of two counselors, and elected Jonathan D. Sergeant, esq., attorney-general of 
Pennsylvania, and William Patterson, esq., attorney-general of New Jersey. 

February 17, 1778. 

Resolved, That Brigadier R. Howe's appointment of Henry Purcell, 
to be deputy judge-advocate-general for the States of South Carolina 
and Georgia, be confirmed. 

March 27, 1778. 

Resolved, That John Lawrence, esq.. Judge- Advocate-General, be 
hereafter allowed 75 dollars per month, his former rations, and forage 
for two horses. 

November 13, 1778. 

Resolved, That the commanding officer in the Southern Department 
be empowered, if he shall find it necessar}^, to appoint a deput}^ judge- 
advocate for the troops in Georgia, to act so long as occasion requires, 
and to be entitled to the usual monthly pay and allowance. 



THE JUDGE-ADVOCATE-GEKERAL's DEPARTMENT. 125 

Bovemher 16, 1779. 

Resolved, That it be recommended to the executive authority of the 
respective States, upon the application of the judge-advocate for that 
purpose, to grant proper writs requiring and compelling the person 
or persons whose att(Midance shall lie requested l^y the said judge to 
appear and give testimon}' in any cause depending before a court- 
ni;irtial; and that it be recommended to the legislatures of the several 
States to vest the necessary powers for the purposes aforesaid in their 
executive authorities, if the same lie not already done. 

Resolved, That in cases not capital in trials in court-martial, deposi- 
tions may be given in evidence, provided the prosecutor and person 
accused are present at the taking of the same. 

Decemher 21, 1779. 

Resolved, That until the further order of Congress, the subsistence 
of a judge-advocate be the same as the present subsistence of a col- 
onel; and that the subsistence of a deputy judge-advocate be the same 
as the present subsistence of a lieutenant-colonel. 

Decemher '2Jf., 1779. 

Resolved, That on the trials of cases not capital before courts-martial, 
the depositions of witnesses not in the line or staff of the Arm}" may 
be taken before some justice of the peace, and read in evidence, pro- 
vided the prosecutor and person accused are present at the taking the 
same, or that notice be given of the times and places of taking such 
depositions to the opposite party four days previous thereto, when the 
witness reside within the distance of thirty miles from such party, and 
six days when the witness reside above the distance of thirty, and not 
exceeding eighty miles, and a reasonable time for a greater distance. 

* * * 

Resolrc'd, That to encourage witnesses who do not belong to the 
Army to attend on courts-martial and give their evidence viva voce 
when required by the judge-advocate, the reasonable expenses of such 
witnesses shall be defrayed by the United States, and paid by the pay- 
master to the board of war and ordnance, being first adjusted by the 
said board. 

Decemher 24, 1779. — "The honorable the Board of War, having procured a small 
supply of shirts and linen, and directed the distribution of them among the officers 
of the . . . staff, who are not adopted by any State, the clothier-general is to 
deliver them, upon returns signed by the . ." . heads of the following corps and 
departments at the rates directed by a resolve of Congress of the 25th of November 
last. . . . Judge-Advocate." . . . {Orders, General Headquarters, Morris- 
foini.) 

Aj)ril. 9, 17S0. — "Lieutenant Edwards, of Col. Jackson's regiment, is appointed 
deputy judge-advocate in the Army of the United States." {Orders, General Head- 
quarters, Morristown. ) 

July 16, 1780. 

Resolved, That the following proportion of wagons and bathorses 
be allowed to the different ranks of officers, and no more, unless it be 
by order of the Commander in Chief or commanding officer of a sepa- 



126 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

rate army, each of whom to ])e allowed for themselves so many baggage 
wagons and bathorses as they may think necessary, to wit: 

* * * 

Judffe- Advocate 1 two-liorse wagon or 2 bathorses. 

-X- * * 

Deputy judge-advocate with a separate army 1 two-horse wagon or 2 bathorses. 

* -X- * 

Mesol/ved, That in addition . , . there be issued ... as 
many rations as the service shall require. 
. . . Judge-Advocate, two. ... 

jVmmnher 10, 1780. 

Besolved, That the salary of John Lawrence, as Judge- Advocate, 
be settled at the rate of 60 dollars per month, from the time of his 
appointment to the 27th of March, 1778, and from that day to the 1st 
of August last, at the rate of 75 dollars per month; that the deprecia- 
tion on his pay shall be adjusted on the same principles as are directed 
with respect to that part of the line of the Army which is to be pro- 
vided for by Congress; that from the lirst day of August last, his pay 
and appointments be 140 dollars per month, 2 rations per day, exclu- 
sive of what is allowed to the office by the arrangement of the Quar- 
termaster's Department. 

That Mr. Edwards, besides his pay as a lieutenant, shall be entitled 
to an addition of 15 dollars per month as deputy judge-advocate, and 
that Mr. Strong shall, in all respects, excepting the rank of lieutenant, 
be entitled to the pay and appointments provided for Mr. Edwards 
for the time he hath or shall continue to execute the office of deputy 
judge-advocate, 

Sejytemler 28, 1781. 

Resolved, That it be, and hereby is, recommended to the States of 
which the Judge- Advocate and his assistants are respectively inhabit- 
ants to settle with them for the depreciation of their pay on the prin- 
ciples adopted in settlements with the officers of their respective State 
line. 

.Tune 3, 1782. — Congress accepted the resignation of John Lawrence, Judge- 
Advocate. 

Jidy 0, 1782. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a Judge-Advocate for the 
Army, and, the ballots being taken, 

James Innis, esq., was elected, having been previously nominated 
by Mr. Bland, Va. 

July lU 1782. 

ResoUed, That the pay of the Judge- Advocate for the Army of the 
United States be 75 dollars per month; that he be allowed two rations 
per day, and 12| dollars per month for subsistence; also a two-horse 
wagon, with forage for two saddle horses; that he be also allowed for 
a servant 6| dollars per month, for which servant he shall be entitled 
to draw the rations and clothing of a private in the Army. 



THE JUDGE-ADVOCATE-GENEEAl's DEPAETMEISTT. 127 

Resolved^ That the pay of a deputj'^ judge-advocate for the southern 
army, who shall be taken from the line, be 60 dollars per month, 
including- his pay in the line; that he be allowed two rations per da}^, 
and 12f dollars per month for subsistence, including what he may be 
entitled to as an officer in the line; also a two-horse wagon, with forage 
for two saddle horses, including what he may be entitled to as an officer 
of the line; that he be also allowed for a servant 6f dollars per month, 
for which servant he shall l)e entitled to draw the rations and clothing 
of a private in the Army. In this last case he shall not bo allowed a 
servant from the line. 

Resolved^ That the deputy judge-advocate employed in the same 
arm}'' with the Judge-Advocate be taken from the lino of the Army, 
who shall receive, in addition to his pay in the line, 15 dollars per 
month; that he be also allowed for a servant the same as the Judge- 
Advocate, and that ho l)e allowed forage for one saddle horse. 

Resolved^ That all resolutions heretofore passed respecting the pay 
and allowance in the department of Judge-Advocate be, and the same 
are hereb}^, repealed. 

September 12, 1182. — IVIr. Innis having'failed to signify his acceptance and it having 
been intimated that he would decline the office, Congress, September 18, elected 
Major Howell in his place, who, in turn, declined the office of Judge-Advocate, 
October 1, 1782. 

Sejjtemher 1S\ 1782. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a Judge- Advocate, and, the 
, ballots being taken, 

■ Major Richard Howell was elected, having been previously nomi- 
nated by Mr. Boudinot. 

(Mto7M'/' 2, 1782. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a Judge-Advocate, and, the 
ballots being taken, 

Lieutenant Thomas Edwards was elected, having l)een previously 
nominated b}' Mr. Duane. 

October!, 1782. "The honorable the Congress of the United States [has] been 
pleased by their resolutions of the 2d October, to appoint Lt. Thomas Edwards, of 
the 9th Massachusetts Regt., to be Judge- Advocate of the Army." {Orders, General 
Headquarters, Verpank^s I'oint.) 

October 23, 1782. 

Resolved., . . . That the following be the proportion of wagons 
and bathorses to the different rank of officers: . 

Judge-Advocate, one two-horse wagon. 

Deputy judge-advocate for the southern army, one two-horse wagon. 

-X- -X- * 

That there shall be allow^ed for saddle horses: 

* * * 

Judge- Advocate, 2 rations. 

Deputy with a separate army, 2 rations. 

* -X- * 

November 12, 1782. "Lt. Samuel Cogswell, of the 9th Massachusetts Eegt., is 
appointed deputy judge-advocate." {Orders, General Headquarters, Netcburgh.) 



128 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GETSTERAL STAFF OF U, S. ARMY. 

STATUTES AT LARGE. 

Act of March S, 1797 (1 Stats., 507). 

AN ACT to amend and repeal, in part, the act entitled "An act to ascertain and fix 
the military establishment of the United States." 

* * * 

Sec. 2. That there shall be . . . one judge-advocate, who shall 
be taken from the commissioned officers of the line, and shall be 
entitled to receive two rations extra per day and twenty-five dollars 
per month, in addition to his pay in the line; and whenever forage 
shall not be furnished b}^ the public, to ten dollars per month in lieu 
thereof. 

* vS- «■ 

Act ofAjyril 10, 1806 (;.^ Stats., 359). 

AN ACT for establishmg rules and articles for the government of the armies of the 

United States. 



Article G9. The judge-advocate, or some person deputed by him, 
or by the general or officer commanding the army detachment or gar- 
rison, shall prosecute in the name of the United States, but shall so 
far consider himself as counsel for the prisoner, after the said prisoner 
shall have made his plea, as to object to any leading question to any of 
the witnesses, or any question to the prisoner, the answer to which 
might tend to criminate himself; and administer to each member of the 
court before they proceed upon any trial the following oath: . 

"You, A. B., do swear that you will well and truly try and deter- 
mine according to evidence the matter now before you between 
the United States of America and the prisoner to be tried, and that 
you will duly administer justice, according to the provisions of 'An 
act establishing rules and articles for the governnment of the armies 
of the United States,' without partiality, favor or affection; and if 
any doubt shall arise, not^explained by said articles, according to your 
conscience, the best of your understanding, and the custom of war in 
like cases; and you do further swear that you will not divulge the 
sentence of the court until it shall be published by the proper authority; 
neither will yOu disclose or discover the vote or opinion of any partic- 
ular member of the court-martial, unless required to give evidence 
thereof as a witness, by a court of justice, in a due course or law. So 
help you God.'''' 

And as soon as the said oath shall have been administered to the 
respective members the president of the court shall administer to the 
judge- advocate, or person officiating as such, an oath in the following 
words: 

"You, A. B.,do swear that you will not disclose or discover the 
vote or opinion of any particular member of the court-martial, unless 
required to give evidence thereof as a witness, by a court of justice, in 
due course of law; nor divulge the sentence of the court, to an}" but 
the proper authority, until it shall be duly disclosed by the same. So 
Jielp you God.-'' 



THE JUDGE-ADVOCATE-GENEEAl/s DEPARTMENT. 129 

Article 90. Every judge-ad v^ocate, or person officiating as such, at 
any general court-martial, shall transmit, with as much expedition as 
the opportunity of time and distance of place can admit, the original 
proceedings and sentence of such court-martial to the Secretary of 
War; said original proceedings and sentence shall l)e carefully kept 
and pi-esery(>d in the office of said Secretary, to the end that the per- 
sons entitled thereto may be enabled, upon application to the said 
office, to obtain copies thereof. 



Act ofJaiinani lU 1812 {2 Stats., 671). 

AN ACT to raise an ailditioual military force. 
* -X- * 

Sec. 10. That there shall be appointed to each diyision a judge- 
adyocate, who shall be entitled to the same ])ay and emoluments as a 
major in the infantry; or, if taken from the line of the Army, shall be 
entitled to thirty dollars per month, in addition to his pay, and the same 
allowance for forage as is allowed by law for a major of infantry. 

i^ * * 

Sec. 25. That no . . . staff officer who may l)e appointed by 
yirtue of this act shall be entitled to receive any pay or emoluments 
until he shall be called into actual service, nor for any longer time 
than he shall continue therein. 

May 17, IS 15. . . . The acts of Congress . . . remain in force; as well aa 
certain acts antliorizing tlie appointment of judge-advocates. . . . {General 
Orders, A. and I. (!.'s Office.) 

Act of Ajyril 2J^, 1816 {J Stats., 297). 

AN ACT for organizing tlie general staff and making further provisions for the Army 

of the United States. 



Sec. 2. That . . . there be three judge-advocates to each divi- 
sion . . . who shall ^'eceivc the pay and emoluments of a major, 
as heretofore allowed. 



Act of April IJf, 181S {.3 Stats., 4.26). 
AN ACT regulating the staff of the Army. 

That SO much of the . . . "act for organizing the general staff, 
and making further provision for the Army of the United States," 
passed April 21, 1816, as relates to . . . judge-advocates . . . 
be, and the same is hcre])y, repealed. 

Sec. 2. That there shall be . . . one judge-advocate, with the pay 
and emoluments of a topographical engineer, to each division. . . . 
* * * 

S. Doc. 229 9 



130 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U, S. ARMY. 
Act of Mrrch 2, 1<%9 {9 Sfat.^., Ml). 

AN ACT to provide for an increase of the medical staff and for an additional nuniljer 
of chaplains of the Army of the United States. 

•;:• * * 

Sec. 4. That the President be, and he is hereby, authorized, l\y and 
with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint a suitable person 
as judge-advocate for the Army, to be tal\en from the captains in the 
Army, who shall have the brevet rank, pay, and emoluments of a major 
of cavalry. . . . 

Act of July 17, 1863 {1'2 Statx., 597). 

AN ACT to amend the act calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, 
suppress insurrections, and repel invasions, approved February twenty-eighth, 
seventeen hundred and ninety-tive, and the acts amendatory thereof, and for other 

purposes. 

Sec. 5. That the President shall appoint, by and with the advice and 
consent of the Senate, a Judge-Advocate-General. with the rank, pay, 
and emoluments of a colonel of cavalry, to whose office shall be returned 
for revision the records and proceedings of all the courts-martial and 
military commissions, and where a record shall be kept of all proceed- 
ings had thereupon. And no sentence of death or imprisonment in the 
penitentiary shall be carried into execution until the same shall have 
been approved l)y the President. 

Sec. 0, That tliere may be appointed by the President, l)y and with 
the advice and consent of the Senate, for each army in the tield a 
judge-advocate, with the rank, pay, and emoluments each of a major 
of cavalry, who shall perform the duties of judge-advocate for the 
army to which they respectively belong, under the direction of the 
Judge-Advocate-General. 



Act (f March 3, 1863 {12 Stat.^., 7^3). 

AN ACT ffir cm-olling and calling out the national forces and for other j)nrposes. 

Sec. 28. That the judge-advocate shall have power to appoint a 
reporter, whose duty it shall l^e to record the proceedings of and testi- 
mony taken before military courts, instead of the judge-advocate. 



Act <f March 3, 1863 {12 Statu., 7U). 

AN ACT making appropriations for sundry civil ex])enses of the Government for the 
year ending June thirty, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, and for the year ending 
the 30 (th)()f June, 1863, and for other purposes. 

-X- -A- W 

Sec. iJ5. That every judge-advocate of a court-martial or court of 
inquiry hereafter to be constituted shall have power to issue the like 
process to compel witnesses to appear and testify which courts of 
criminal jurisdiction within the State, Territory, or district where 
such military courts shall l)e ordered to sit may hiwfully issue. 



THE JUDGE -advocate-general's DEPARTMENT. 131 

Act of June Wth, 1861^ {13 StaU, lU). 

AN ACT to increase the pay of soldiers in the United States Army, and for other 

purposes. 
* * * 

Sec, 5. That there shall I30 attached to, and made a part of, the War 
Departiiient, during the continuance of the present rebellion, a bureau, 
to be known as the Bureau of Military Justice, to which shall be 
returned fur revision the records and proceedings of all the courts- 
martial, courts of inquirv, and military commissions of the armies of 
the United States, and in which a record shall be kept of all proceed- 
ings had thereupon. 

Sec. 6. That the President shall appoint, bj' and with the advice and 
consent of the Senate, as the head of said Bureau, a Judge-Advocate- 
General, wnth the rank, pay, and allowances of a brigadier-general, 
and an Assistant Judge-Advocate-General with the rank, pay, and 
allowances of a colonel of cavalry. And the said Judge-Advocate- 
General and his assistant shall receive, revise, and have recorded the 
proceedings of the courts-martial, courts of inquiry, and military com- 
missions of the armies of the United States and perform such other 
duties as have heretofore becMi performed by the Judge-Advocate- 
General of the armies of the United States. 



Art of Jul II 'J,s\ ISGO {IJ^ Statx., S.iii). 

AN ACT to increase and lix the niihtary jieace establislinient of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 12. That the Bureau of Military Justice shall hereafter consist 
of one Judge-Advocate-General, with the rank, pa}^, and emoluments^of 
a brigadier-general, and one Assistant Judge- Advocate-General, with 
the rank, pay, and emoluments of a colonel of cavalry; and the said 
Judge-Advocate-General shall receive, revise, and have recorded the 
proceedings of all courts-martial, courts of inquiry, and military com- 
missions, and shall perform such other duties as have been heretofore 
performed by the Judge-xVdvocate-General of the Army. And of the 
judge-advocates now in office there may be retained a number not 
exceeding ten, to be selected by the Secretary of War, who shall per- 
form their duties under the direction of the Judge-Advocate-General 
until otherwise provided b}^ law, or until the Secretary of War shall 
decide that their services can be dispensed with. 

* * -X- 

Ad of February 25, 1867 {U Stats., J^IO). 

AN ACT to amend section twelve, chapter two hundred and ninety-nine, of the laws 
of the tirst session of the Thirty -ninth Congress. 

That the last clause of section twelve, of chapter two hundred and 
ninety-nine of the laws of first session Thirty-ninth Congress, approved 
July twenty-eighth, eighteen hundred and sixty-six, is hereby amended 
by repealing all after and including the worcls "until otherwise pro- 
vided by law," so as to place the judge-advocates thereby authorized 
to be retained in service upon the same footing in respect of tenure of 
ofiice and otherwise as other officers of the Army of the United States. 



132 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 
Act of April 10, 18G9 {16 Stats., U)- 
AN ACT to declare ami fix the status of judge-advocate of the Army. 

That the number of judge-advocates of the Army be, and the same 
is hereby, fixed at eight, and the President is hereby avithorized, by 
and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to till all vacancies 
which have occurred or may hereafter occur therein. 

Act of June 23, 1871^ {18 Stats., 2U)- 

AN ACT reorganizing the several staff corps of the Army. 

* * * 

Sec. 2. That the Bureau of Military Justice shall hereafter consist 
of one Judge-Advocate-General, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of 
a brigadier-general; and the said ,Judge-Advocate-General shall receive, 
revise, and have recorded the proceedings of all courts-martial, courts 
of inquiry, and military conmiissions, and shall perform such other 
duties as have been heretofore performed by the Judge-Advocate- 
General of the Army. In the corps of judge-advocates no appoint- 
ments shall be made as vacancies shall occur until the number shall be 
reduced to four, which shall hereafter be the permanent number of the 
officers of that corps. 

* * * 

Sec. 6. That no officer now in service shall be reduced in rank or 
mustered out ])y reason of any provision of law herein made reducing 
the number of officers in any department or corps of the stafi". 

-X- * * 

REVISED STATUTES~2ND EDITION- 1878. 

* * * 

Sec. 101)4. The Army of tiie United States shall consist of — 

■X- * * 

A Bureau of Military Justice. 
Eight judge-advocates. 

* x- * 

Sec. 1198. The Bureau of Military Justice shall consist of one Judge- 
Advocate-General, with the rank of brigadier-general, and one Assist- 
ant Judge- Advocate-General, with the rank of colonel of cavalry. 

Sec. 1199. The Judge- Advocate-General shall receive, revise, and 
cause to be recorded the proceedings of all courts-martial, courts of 
inquiry, and military commissions, and perform such other duties as 
have been performed hei'etofore by the Judge- Advocate-General of 
the Army. 

Sec. 1200. There shall l>e eight judge-advocates of the Army, with 
the rank of major of cavalry. 

Sec. 1201. Judge-advocates shall perform their duties under the 
direction of the Judge- Advocate-General. 

Sec. 1202. Every judge-advocate of a court-martial shall have power 
to issue the like process to compel witnesses to appear and testify 
which courts of criminal jurisdiction within the State, Territory-, or 
district where such military courts shall be ordered to sit may law- 
fully issue. 



I'HE JUDGE-ADVOCATE-GENERAL S DEPARTMENT. 138 

Sec. 1208. Tho, judge-advocate of a militaiy court shall have power 
to appoint a reporter, Avho shall report the proceediiig-s of, and testi- 
mony taken before, .such coui't, and may set down the same, in the fir.st 
instance, in shorthand. The reporter shall, before entering- upon his 
duty, be sworn, or affirmed, faithfully to perform the same. 



Sec. 1342. . . . 

* * * 

Art. 00. The judge-advocate shall prosecute in the name of the 
United States, but when the prisoner has made his plea, or when the 
same has been entered by order of the court, he shall so far consider 
himself counsel for the prisoner as to object to any leading question 
to any of the witnesses, and to any question to the prisoner, the answer 
to which might tend to criminate himself. 

Art. 91. The depositions of witnesses residing beyond the limits of 
the State, Territory, or district in which any military court may be 
ordered to sit, if taken on reasonable notice to the opposite party and 
duly authenticated, may be read in evidence before such court in cases 
not capital. 

Art. 92. All persons who give evidence before a court-martial shall 
be examined on oath or affirmation in the following form: "You swear 
(or affirm) that the evidence j^ou shall give, in the case now in hearing, 
shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. So help 

you God." 

* * * 

Art. 113. Every judge-advocate, or person acting as such, at any 
general court-martial, shall, with as much expedition as the opportunity 
of time and distance of place may admit, forward the original pro- 
ceedings and sentence of such court to the Judge-i'Ldvocate-General of 
the Army, in whose office they shall be carefully preserved. 



STATUTES AT LARGE. 

Act of Mnreh .?, 188S (22 Siats., 56 I^). 

AN ACT prescribing regulations for the Soldiers' Home, located at Washington, in 
the District of Columbia, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 10. That the l)oard of commissioners of the Soldiers' Home 
shall hereafter consist of . . . the Judge-Advocate-General. . . . 

* * * 

Act ofjuhj r>, 18<% (£? Stats., 113). 

AN ACT to consolidate the Bureau of Military Justice and the Corps of Judge-Advo- 
cates of the Army, and for other jiurposes. 

That the Bureau of Military Justice and the Corps of Judge-Advocates 
of the Army be, and the same are hereby, consolidated under the title 
of Judge-Advocate-Generars Department, and shall consist of one 
Judge-Advocate-Cxeneral, with the rank, pay, and allowances of a 
colonel; three deputy judge-advocate-generals, with the rank, pay, and 



134 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF II. S. ARMY. 

allowances of lieatenant-colonels, and three judge-advocates, with the 
rank, pay, and allowances of majors; the colonels and lieutenant-colonels 
to be selected by seniority from the present Corps of Judge- Advocates. 
And the Secretary of War is hereby authorized to detail such number 
of officers of the line as he may deem necessar}^ to servo as acting judge- 
advocates of military departments, who shall have while on such duty 
the rank, pay, and allowances of captains of cavahy. 

Sec. 2. Promotions in the Judge- Advocate-Generars Department, as 
provided in the first section of this act, shall be by seniority up to and 
including the rank of colonel. 

Sec. 3. That nothing herein shall be construed to interfere with the 
rank or position of any officer now holding a connnission in either the 
Bureau of Military Justice or Corps of Judge- Advocates. 

Act of July 27, 1892 {27 Stats., 277). 

AN ACT to amend the Articlen of War, and for other purposes. 

* «■ * 

Sec. 2. That whenever a court-martial shall sit in closed session, the 
judge-advocate shall withdraw, and when his legal advice or his assist 
ance in referring to recorded evidence is required, it shall be obtained 
in open court. 

-X- * * 

Sec. -i. That judge-advocates of departments and of courts-martial, 
. , . are hereby authorized to administer oaths for the purposes 
of the administration of military justice, and for other purposes of 

military administration. 

* * * 

Act of April 22, 1898 {50 Stats., 361). 

AN ACT to provide for temporarily increaging tlie mihtary establishment of the 
United States in time of war, and for other purposes. 

-X- -X- * 

Sec. 10. That the statf of the connnander of an army corps shall 
consist of . . . one judge-advocate, . . . who shall have 
. . . the rank of lieutenant-colonel. . . . 



Act of March 2, 1899 {SO Stats., 977). 

AN ACT for increasing the efficiency of the Army of the United States, and for 

other purposes. 

That from and after the date of approval of this act the Army of 
the United States shall consist of . . . a Judge- Advocate-General's 
Department. 

* * * 

Sec. 7. That the Judge- Ad vocate-GeneraFs Department . . . 
shall consist of the officers . . . now provided bylaw: . . . 
And provided, also. That no person in civil life shall hereafter be 
appointed a judge-advocate . . . until he shall have passed satis- 
factorily such examination as to his moral, mental, and physical quali- 
fications as may be prescribed by the President; and no such person 
shall be appointed who is moretliau forty-four years of age: Provided 



THK judge-advocate-general's DEPARTMENT. 135 

further^ That in case of the appointment of an officer who has served 
in a similar capacity during" the war with Spain, and has demonstrated 
his moral, mental, and physical qualifications for the position, then 
such an examination shall not be required. 



Sec. 14. That the President is hereby authorized to continue in serv- 
ice or to appoint by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
officers of the volunteer staff as follows: 



Five judge-advocates with the rank of major. 

* * * 

Act of Fehruary 9., 1901 {31 Stats., -). 

AN ACT to increase the efficiency of tlie permanent military establishment of the 

United States. 

That from and after the approval of this act the Army of the United 
States . . . shall consist of . , . a Judge- Advocate-General's 
Department. 

* * * 

Sec. 15. That the Judge-Advocate-General's Department shall con- 
sist of one Judge-Advocate-General with the rank of brigadier-general, 
two judge-advocates with the rank of cfdoiiel, three judge-advocates 
with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, six judge-advocates with the rank 
of major, and for each geogra]3hical department or tactical division of 
troops not provided with a judge-advocate from the list of officers hold- 
ing permanent conmiissions in the Judge-Advocate-Generars Depart- 
ment one acting judge-advocate with the rank, pay, and allowances of 
captain, mounted. Promotions to vacancies above the grade of major, 
created or caused by this act, shall be made, according to seniority, 
from officers now holding commission in the Judge-Advocate-Generars 
Department. Vacancies created or caused by this act in the grade of 
major may be filled by appointment of officers holding commissions as 
judge-advocate of volunteers since April twenty-first, eighteen hun- 
dred and ninety-eight. Vacancies which may occur thereafter in the 
grade of major in the Judge-Advocate-Generars Department shall be 
filled b}' the appointment of officers of the line, or of persons who have 
satisfactorily served as judge-advocates of volunteers since April 
twenty-first, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, or of persons from 
civil life who at date of appointment are not over thirty-five years of 
age and who shall pass a satisfactory examination to be prescribed by 
the Secretary of War. 

Acting judge-advocates provided for herein shall be detailed from 
officers of the grades of captain or first lieutenant of the line of the 
Army who while so serving shall continue to hold thoir commissions 
in the arm of the service to which they permanently l)elong. Upon 
completion of a tour of duty not exceeding four years they shall be 
returned to the arm in which commissioned, and shall not be again 
detailed until they shall have completed two years' duty with the arm 
of the service in which commissioned. 



136 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Sec. 26. . . . That when vacancies shall occur in the position 
of chief of an}^ staff corps or department the President ma}' appoint to 
.such vacancies, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, offi- 
cers of the Army at lar^e not below the rank of lieutenant-colonel, 
and who shall hold office for terms of four years. When a vacancy in 
the position of chief of any staff corps or department is filled by the 
appointment of an officer below the rank now provided by law for said 
office, said chief shall, while so serving, have the same rank, pay, and 
allowances now provided for the chief of such corps or department. 
And any officer now holding- office in any corps or department who 
shall hereafter serve as chief of a staff corps or department and shall 
subsequently be retired, shall* be retired with the rank, pay, and allow- 
ances authorized by law for the retirement of such corps or depart- 
ment chief: Provided, That so long as there remain in service officers 
of any staff corps or department holding permanent appointments, the 
chief of such staff corps or department shall be selected from the offi- 
cers so remaining therein. 

Sec. 27. That each position vacated by officers of the line, trans- 
ferred to any department of the staff' for tours of service under this 
act, shall be filled ])y promotion in the line until the total number 
detailed equals the number authorized for duty in each staff' depart- 
ment. Thereafter vacancies caused l)v details from the line to the 
staff shall be filled by officers returning from tours of staff' duty. If 
under the operation of this act the number of officers returned to any 
particular arm of the service at any time exceeds the number authoi-- 
ized by haw in anv grade, promotions to that grade shall cease until 
the numl)er has l)een reduced to that authorized. 



Act if March 2, 1901 (SI Stats.. — ). 

AN ACT making appropriation for the support of the Army for the fiscal year end- 
ing June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and two. 

* * * 

Provided, That appointments to fill original vacancies in the lowest 
grade in the . . . Judge-Advocate-GeneraTs Department. . . . 
may be made from officers of volunteers commissioned since April 
twenty-first, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight. . . . 



V.-THE QUARTERMASTER'S DEPARTMENT. 



137 



THE QUARTERMASTER'S DEPARTMENT. 



The earliest legislation relating to the Quartermaster's Department 
dates from June 16, 1775, when Congress "" resolved that there be one 
Quartermaster-General for the grand Army and one deputy under him 
for the separate army," and May 11, 1777, Congress adopted regula- 
tions for the guidance of the Quartermaster-General and his assistants. 

The resignation of General Mifflin (the first Quartermaster-General), 
November 7, 1777, made the condition of that Department, without an 
ostensible head and with an organization to a certain extent defective 
and incomplete, a subject of much solicitude to General Washington. 

February 6, 1778, Congress adopted the following plan for carrying 
into execution the business of the Quartermaster's Department: 

First. The military line to be styled the Quartermaster-General's, 
which is to include the regulating of marches, encampments, order of 
battle, etc., as described in the books of the profession. This officer 
not to have the disposal of public money, except small occasional sums 
for defraying petty expenses in the Army. 

Second. The commissary of forage, who is to be confined to that 
article in his purchases. 

Third. The commissary for horses and wagons. 

Fourth. The agents for the purchase of tents, entrenching tools, 
building of barracks, and for all the smaller supplies of the Depart- 
ment. 

The three last to be governed in their purchases by the estimates 
and orders of the Quartermaster-General or the Board of War. 

April 17, 1779, the Quartermaster-General was directed to estab- 
lish regulations for the conduct, mustering, and paying of a corps of 
wagoners. 

July 15, 1780, Congress resolved that there be one Quartermaster- 
General and one assistant quartermaster-general, to be appointed by 
Congress, and one deputy quartermaster for each army, to be appointed 
by the Quartermaster-General, and promulgated a code of regulations 
for the government of the Quartermaster's Department. 

July 25, 1785, the "Department of Quartermaster-General" ceased 
to exist. 

The Quartermaster's Department, eo nomine, was first organized 
under the act of March 28, 1812. Under its provisions the office of 
"purveyor of public supplies" was abolished and its duties divided 
between the Quartermaster's and the Purchasing Departments. 

The Army Register of May 1, 1813, under authority of the act of 
March 3, same year, defined the respective duties of the Quartermas- 
ter's and the Purchasing Departments in reference to purchases so as 
to commit to the former the purchase of forage, fuel, soldiers' bedding, 

139 



140 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENEKAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

stationery, dragoon and artillery horses, meiins of transportation, and 
material for the construction and repair of 1)arracks, hospitals, and 
bridges. 

The act of May 18, 1826, made it the duty of the Quartermaster's 
Department to receive from the Purchasing Department and distribute 
to the Army all clothing- and camp and garrison equipage. The abol- 
ishment, by the act of August 23, 1842, of the ofhce of Commissary- 
General of Purchases devolved the purchase of clothing upon the 
Quartermaster's Department. 

Aug. 14,1775. — Col. Thomas Mifflin (Pennsylvania). 
June 5,1776. — Col. Stephen Moylan (Pennsylvania). 
Oct. 1,1776. — Brig. Gen. Thomas Mifflin (Pennsylvania). 
Mar. 2, 1778. — Maj. Gen. Nathaniel Greene (Khode Island). 
Aug. 5, 1780. — Col. Thomas Pickering (Massachusetts). 
Mar. 4, 1791. — Lieut. Col. Samuel Hodgdon (Pennsylvania). 
Apr. 19,1792. — Lieut. Col. James O'Hara (Pennsylvania). 
June 1,1796. — Lieut. Col. John Wilkins, jr. (Pennsylvania). 
Tune 1,1799.^ — Maj. Gen. John Wilkins, jr, (Pennsylvania). 
Apr. 4,1812. — Brig. Gen. Morgan Lewis (New York). 
Mar. 21,1813. — Brig. Gen. Robert Swartwout (New York). 
Apr. 29,1816.- — Col. James R. Mullany (New York), Northern Division. 
Col. George Gibson (Pennsylvania), Southern Division. 
Apr. 18,1818. — Brig. Gen. William Cumming (Georgia). 
May 8, 1818.— Brig. Gen. Thomas S. Jesup (Ohio). 
June 20,1860. — Brig. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston (Virginia). 
May 15,1861. — Brig. Gen. Montgomery C. Meigs (Pennsylvania). 
Feb. 13, 1882.— Brig. Gen. Daniel II. Rucker (Michigan). 
Feb. 23, 1882.— Brig. Gen. Rufus Ingalls (Maine). 
July 1,1883. — Brig. Gen. Samuel B. Holabird (Connecticut). 
June 26, 1890.— Brig. Gen. Richard N. Batchelder (New Hampshire). 
Aug. 19, 1896.— Brig. Gen. Charles G. Sawtelle (Maine). 
Feb. 16,1897. — Brig. Gen. George H. Weeks (Maine). 
Feb. 3, 1898. — Brig. Gen. Marshall I. Ludington (Pennsyl-uiiia). 



THE QUAKTERMASTEK'S DEPAKTMENT. 



JOURNALS OF THE AMERICAN (CONTINENTAL) CONGRESS. 

Jviui 16, 1775. 

Resolved^ . . . That there be one Quartermaster-General for 
the grand army and one deputy under him for the .separate army. 

That the pay of the Quartermaster-General be eighty dollars per 
month and that of the deput}^ forty dollars per month. 

• Jul>/ 17, 1776. 

Resolved, That a deputy quartermaster-general l)e appointed for 
the said [New York] department. 

Donald Campbell, esq., elected to that office. 

Ordered, That Mr. D. Campbell have the rank of colonel in the Army. 

July 19, 1775. 

Resolved, That the appointment of a Quartermaster-General . . . 
be left to General Washington. 

July '29, 1775. 

Resolved, . . . That the appointment of . . . wagon master 
and master carpenter be left to the Commander in Chief of the Army, 
who is to fix their pay, having regard to the pay they receive in the 
ministerial army and the proportion that the pay of the officers in 
said arm}^ bears to the pay of our officers. 

* * * 

Resolved, That the . . . ^ Quartermaster-General and ever}- of 
their [his] deputies shall take an oath trul}^ and faithf ulh^ to discharge 
the duties of their respective stations. 

August 9, 1775. — "Mr. John Goddard i.s appointed by the Commander in Chief 
wagon master general to the Army of the twelve United Colonies." {Orders, 
General ITeadquariers, Cambridge. ) ■ 

August 14, 1775. — " Major Thomas Mifflin is appointed Quartermaster-General to 
the Army of the United Colonies." (Orders, General Headquarters, Cambridge.) 
[May 26, 1776, he was appointed brigadier-general, and October 1, 1776, was 
requested to resume the duties of Quartermaster-General.] . 

August 16, 1775. — John Parke, esq., wasappointed an assistant to the Quartermaster- 
General. ( Orders, General Headquarters, Cambridge. ) 

September 22, 1775. — John Gizzage Frazer was appointed assistant to the Quarter- 
master-General for the district of Prospect and Winter Hill. {Orders, General 
Headquarters, Cambridge. ) 

141 



142 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

September ^-5, 1775. 

Resolved., That a committee be appointed to purehaso a quantit}' of 
woolen goods for the u.se of the Army, to the amount of live thousand 
pounds sterling. 

That the said goods, when bought, be placed in the hands of the 
quartermasters-general of the Continental armies, and that the same 
be by them sold out to the private soldiers of said armies at prime cost 
and charges, including a commission of live per centum to the said 
quartermasters-general for their trouble. 

That the committee consist of live. 

The ballot being taken and examined, the following members were 
chosen: 

Mr. Lewis, Mr. Alsop, Mr. Willing, Mr. Dcane, iind Mr. Langdon. 

Octoher r5, 1776. 

Resolved, That Timothy Mattack, of this city, be employed as a store- 
keeper, and that the implements provided for the hussars, and the 
tents, and linen, etc., purchased for the Anny, be put under his care. 

November 2, 1776. 

Resolved, That 3,000 felt hats, 3,000 worsted caps, 3,000 pair of 
buckskin breeches, 3,000 pairs of shoes, 3,000 pairs of yarn stockings, 
and 3,000 waistcoats, suitable for the season, be immediately purchased 
and sent to the Army, under the command of General Schuj^Ier, to be 
sold to the soldiers at prime cost, including charges of carriage and 
live per cent to the deputj^ quartermaster-general, by whom the said 
goods are to be sold. 

Resol/ved, That as much duffels or kersey as will make three hun- 
dred watch coats ])e purchased and sent to General Schu3der, with 
needles and thread, to be made into watch coats, and that these be 
charged to the Continent and kept for the use of the out Gentries. 

Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed to purchase the 
foregoing articles. 

The members chosen: Mr. Alsop, Mr. Lewis, and Mr. Sherman. 

JVovemher 4, 1776. 

Resolved, That it be recommended to the several legislatures of New 
England to empower the General to impress carriages, vessels, horses, 
and other things necessary, at a reasonable rate, for the transportation 
or march of the Army, or any part of it, or on any other emergency, 
and that this power be deputed in writing, under the hand of the Gen- 
eral to the Quartermaster-General, or to any inferior officer, who are 
to be accountable for any abuse thereof. 

November 16, 1775. — "Col. Brewer will be appointed barrack master until some- 
thing better worth his acceptance can be provided." ( Orders, General Headquarters, 
Cambridge. ) [On the rearrangement of the Army Colonel Brewer was assigned to the 
command of a regiment heretofore under Colonel Whitcomb, but waived his right in 
favor of the latter. ] 

November IS, 1775. — The Commissary-General to order all the horns of the bullocks 
that are killed for the use of the Army to be saved and sent to the Quartermaster- 
General, who is also to provide as. many as he can get, and have the whole made into 
guo<? powderhorns, for tlie use of the troops." {Orders, General Headquarters, Cam- 
bridge.) 



THE quartermaster's DEPARTMENT. 143 

JVovoniher ;^7, 177'~>. 

Resolved., That ih(^ troops in the service of thti Continent lie supplied 
with fuel and beddiny at the expense of the Continent. 

Decemher i2i2, T77h. 

liesolrid^ Tliat the Quartennaster-General \\\wv tlie raidc of a colonel 
in the Army of the United Colonies. 

Felmmry J, 1776. 

Resolved^ . . . That the appointments by General Schuyler 
of . . . Gysbert Marselis, esq., to be barrack master, . 
and IMr. Philip Van Kcnnselaer, to be storekeeper at Albany, be con- 
firmed; and that General Schuyler be desired to inform Congress of 
the proper salaries to be annexed to those offices. 

February 20, 1776. — "As it ia necessary that every regiment should be furnished 
with colours, and that those colours should, if it can be done, 1 lear some kind of 
similitude to the viniform of the regiment to which they l)elong, the colonels, with 
their respective brigadiers and the (^ INI. Genl., may fix U])on such as are proper and 
can be procured. There must be to each regimentthe standard (or regimental colours) 
and cjiours for each grand division, the whole to be small and light. The number 
of the regiment is to be marked on the colours, and such a motto as the colonel may 
choose, in fixing upon which the General advises a consultation amongst them. 
The colonels are to delay no time in getting this matter fixed, that the Q. M. General 
may provide the colours as soon as possible." {Orders, General Headquarters, 
C'amhridge.) 

March 3, 1776. — "The Q. M. General may draw the carbines out of the commis- 
sary's stores, and put them into the hands of the carpenters, or such others, as he 
shall think will use them to the best advantage, taking care to return them when 
called for. AU arms in store, lit for use, may ])edelivered out to the Adjutant-General's 
order." {Orders, General I£ead<juarlers, Cambridge.) 

March 28, 1776. 

Resolved, That Mr. William Finney be appointed a deputy quarter- 
master in the Southern Department. 

Jfay 7, 1776. 

Resolved, . . . That a deputy ({uartermaster-general l)e appointed 
for the Southern Department, to be employed in North Carolina. 

% * * 

Congress proceedwlto the election of a deputy quartermaster-general 
for the Southern Department, and the ballots being taken. 

Nicholas Long, esq., was elected. 

Resolved, That Nicholas Long, esq. , haye the rank of a coloiud in the 
Continental Army. 

Mag 11, 1776. — "His Excellency has l)een pleased to ajjpoint Hugh Hughes, esq., 
assistant <|uartermaster-general." {Orders, General Headquarters, Netv York.^ 

June 5, 1776. 

Resolved, That the . . . deputy <iuartermaster-general, . . . 
make regular returns and report to Congress, and to the respective 
officers to whom they are dejiuties, at least onee a month, and that the 
principals also make returns !.[. the same periods. 



144 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

That the assistant quartermasters l)e allowed captain's pny. 

* * * 

Congress then proceeded to the election of an . . . and Quarter- 
master-General, to till up the vacancies in these otHces; when the bal- 
lots being taken and examined, 

* * * 

Stephen Moylan, esq., was elected Quartermaster-General. 
Besol'ved, . . . That Stephen Moylan, esq., have the pay of 80 
dollars a month and the rank of colonel. 

June?, 1776. — "The honorable the Continental Congre.ss have been pleased to 
appoint Stephen Moylan, esq., to l)e Quartermaster-General, in the room of Thomas 
Mifflm, esq., preferred." {Orders, General Headquarters, New York.) 

July S, 1776. 

The Congress then proceeded to the election of a deput}^ quarter- 
master-general for the tlying camp; and the ballots being taken, 

Clement Biddle was elected deputy (juartermaster-general for the 
flying camp and for the militia of Pennsylvania and New Jersey ordered 
to rendezvous at Trenton. 

July SO, 1776. — "The Quartermaster-General is to provide canteens as soon as ])os- 
sible, and to have the water in the several works in casks examined, that there may 
be afresh supply if necessary." {Orders, General Headquarters, New York.) 

Augw^t 2, 1776. 

Resolved., . . . That the Quartermaster-General and deputy 
quartermasters-general in the several departments be directed to trans- 
mit weekly to Congress an account of the moneys they respectively 
receive from the Paymaster-General or deputy paymaster-general. 

That the . . . Quartermaster-General, . . . and deputy 
quartermasters-general be directed to make monthly returns, at least, 
of the stores under their direction and the distribution of them. 

Aw/ifsf 17^ 1776. 

Resolved,, That Gustavus Ris))erg be appointed assistant to Clement 
Biddle, deputy quartermaster-general to the flying camp, and that he 
reside at Philadelphia. 

August 25, 1776. — "Colonel Morgan Lewi.s is appointed deputy quartermaster- 
general of the Northern Army." {Orders, General Headquarters, Ticonderoga.) 

Septemhei' l^ii^ 1776. 

Congress then proceeded to the election of sundry oflicers; and the 
ballots being taken, 

* -X- * 

was elected . . . , and Morgan Lewis, esq., deputy 
quartermaster-general of the said army [in Northern Department]. 

September 14, 1776. — " Capt. Brown is excused from duty, on account of assisting the 
Quartermaster-General." {Orders, General Headquarters, New York.) 



THE QUAKTERMASTEE's DEPARTMENT. 145 

iScjitriiihrr .i?6\ 177G. 

Resolved^ Tluit the . . , Quartermaster-General and deputy 
quartermaster-general and their assistants in the several departments 
be directed to appl}" to Mr. Mease for such articles of , . . camp 
equipage and other utensils which they may want to purchase in the 
State of Pennsylvania for the use of the Army. 

Scjitemhcr 28, 1776. — "Stephen Moylan, esq., having resigned liis office of Quarter- 
master-General, Brigadier-(Jeneral Mifflin is appointed thereto till the pleasure of 
Congress is known." {Orden;, General Headquarters, Harkiii Ileiyhts.) 

Octoher 1^ 1776. 

Stephen Moylan, esq., having- resigned his office of Quartermaster- 
General of the Continental Army, 

Resolved, That Brigadier-General Mifflin be authorized and requested 
to resume the said office, and that his rank and pay as brigadier be still 
continued to him. 

Octoher "2, 1776. 

Resolved, . . . The committee appointed to confer with Briga- 
dier-General Mifflin reported that upon the conference they tind the 
following supplies will be necessary for the use and comfort of the 
Army, which ought to be procured as soon as may be, viz, 200 wagons 
with four horses each, 50 ox teams with 2 oxen each for various small 
services, 100 strong horses for the artillery, 50 horses for expresses 
and commissary uses, 25,000 bushels of Indian corn, 15,000 bushels of 
oats, 10,000 bushels of rye meal, 10,000 bushels of spelts, 1,800 tons of 
haj^, 50 cutting boxes, 2,b00 axes, 2,000 wheel and hand barrows, 8,000 
cords of wood, a set of carpenters' tools for each regiment, a wagon- 
master and one deputy, 20 conductors of wagons on captains' pay, 
allowing 10 wagons for each conductor, 5 conductors for artiller}^, 100 
casks of nails and spikes, 10,000 knapsacks, 10,000 camp kettles, two 
million feet of boards, planks, and joists, for barracks, platforms, &c. 

That a company of 50 blacksmiths should be immediately sent to 
camp, 12 harness and collar makers, and 25 wheelwrights. 

Resolved., . . . That one-eighth part of a dollar over and above 
their soldiers' pay be allowed to such persons as are necessarily 
draughted for quartermasters' uses; 

That as 5,000 tents will be necessary for the spring campaign they 
be provided in due time; 

That it be recommended to the several States to make legal provi- 
sion to compel the furnishing of necessary supplies and assistance to 
the Quartermaster-General of the Continental Army on reasonable 
terms for the public use. 

Resoloed, That a committee of three be appointed to consider of a 
plan for providing carriages for the public service, so as any demands 
may be speedily complied with, and all oppression of private persons 
eticctually prevented. 

The members chosen, Mr. Witherspoon, Mr. Smith, and Mr. Hunt- 
ington. 

Octobers, 1776. — "The Quartern laster-General is to use the greatest diligence in 
providing straw for the acconiuiodatiou of the troops." {Orders, General Headquar- 
ters, Harlem Heiglds.) 

S. Doc. 229 10 



146 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

October 10, 1776. 

Resolved, That the quartermasters in every department be ordered 
to avoid pressing horses and carriages as much as possible; and, when 
it is necessary, that they be directed to go to the country houses for 
that purpose; and discharge, as soon as the service will admit, such 
horses and carriages so impressed; and that no violence whatever be 
done to any persons, their horses, or carriages, who go to the camp of 
their own accord to sell provisions or other necessaries of anv kind, 

October 15, 1776. — Deputy Quartermaster-General AVilliam Da vies, resigned. 

Octoher "21, 1770. 

Resolmed, . . . That the rations allowed to the several officers 
on the staff in the Army of the United States, not heretofore settled, 
be as follows: 

To the . . . deput}' quartermaster-general, (5 rations. 

Octoher ^^, 1776. 

The secret committee reported that the cargo lately arrived at 
Portsmouth in the brig Marquis of Klldare, Captain Palmer, consists 
of the following articles, ahz, . . . -i^OOO yards of small canvas; 
. ' . . whereupon 

Resolved, . . . That the remainder of the canvas [part of it 
had been allotted for use of the frigate Rawley] be made into tents 
and sent to the northern army. 

Octoher -23, 1776. 

Congress Ijeing informed that a vessel from London to Quebec, 
loaded with dry goods, among which are a quantity of blankets and 
coarse cloths fit for soldiers' clothing, was lately taken and brought to 
Rhode Island, 

Resolved, That Governor Cooke be requested immediately to pur- 
chase at Continental expense, for the use of the Arm}^ under General 
Washington, all the said blankets and cloths; that the blankets be sent 
to General Washington, and the cloths made up agreeable to the 
direction of Brigadier-General Mifflin, Quartermaster-General. 

Novemher .^, 1776. 

Resolved, That the wagon-master-general ))e directed to take charge 
of the horses belonging to the continent and prepare them for service 
as soon as possible. 

November 22, 1776. — Messrs. Paea of JNIaryland, Ross of Pennsylvania, and Witlier- 
spoon of New Jersey were constituted a committee to repair to General Washing- 
ton's headquarters to confer with and assist him in improving the present state of the 
Army, which, owing to past and future disbandments, may be met by a largely 
superior force. 

Nove'mber 27, 1776. 

A letter from Mr. Ross, Mr. Paca, and Mr. Witherspoon,was read, 
informing that they have appointed an assistant quartermaster, . . . 
to provide for a number of sick and take care of the stores sent to 
Princeton. 

Ordered, That the President inform them that Congress approve of 
the appointments. 



THE quartermaster's DEPARTMENT. 147 

JS'ovevihvr £9, 1776. 

Remlved., That the, secret committee be directed to provide, as soon 
as may be, . . . equipage for 3,000 horse. 

Novetnber 30, 1776. 

Resolved^ That the board of war be directed to purchase, for the 
public service, six wagons, with four horses and proper liarness to 
each wagon, and to employ suitable drivers. 

Decemher 2, 1776. 

Resolved, That the board of war be directed to purchase, immedi- 
atelj^ ten or twelve covered wagons for the artillery. 

December 12, 1776. — Owing to the approach of the enemy, the Quartermaster-Gen- 
eral was directed to remove certain stores to a place of safety. 

Decemher 30, 1776. 

FOR THE BETTER REGULATING WAGONS IN THE NORTHERN ARMY. 

Resolved, That two wagons be allowed to each company on a march, 
and one wagon to the colonel, one to the lieutenant-colonel and major, 
one to the staff of a regiment, and one for the particular use of the 
director of the hospital. Each wagon to be drawn by two horses 
(except that for the colonel, which is to be allowed four horses), and 
subject to such orders as shall from time to time be issued by the gen- 
eral or commanding officer. 

December 31, 1776. 

Resolved, That a letter be written to General Washington, desiring 
him to order . . . the Quartermaster-General to pursue the same 
mode (sending agents into each State) for procuring a sufficient quan- 
tity of tent cloth, and that they be severally directed to apply to the 
States to afford all necessary assistance therein. . . . 

Janiiury ^, 1777. 

Re^jlved, That Gerard Hopkins, son of Richard, be appointed a 
deputy quartermaster. 

JmiiKiry 9, 1777 . 

Resolved, That Udney Hay, esq., be appointed a lieutenant-colonel 
by brevet and assistant deputy quartermaster-general, and stationed 
at Ticonderoga. 

Janaary 18, 1777. 

Resolved, . . . That the committee of Congress in Philadelphia 
be desired to inform the Quartermaster-General what number of horses 
and oxen in the public stables at Philadelphia are tit for serv^ice; 

That they enq)h)y a careful person to distribute in the country such 
of them as are disabled, there to be recruited in the cheapest manner; 

That the keepers of the continental stables admit no horses or teams 
to be received into or taken out of the same unless by order of a gen- 



148 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENEKAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

eral officer commanding- in the place where the stables are respectively 
kept; or of the Quartermaster-General or deputy quartermaster-gen- 
eral, or wagon master or deputy wagon-master-general. 

February 4, 1777. — ' ' The Quartermaster-General will, in future, deliver the following 
rations of provender for the horses employed in the service, viz, for light horse, 16 
lbs. of hay and 15 quarts of oats, or 6i quarts of Indian corn or otlier grain in lieu 
thereof; for officers' horses belonging to the foot, who are authorized to draw prov- 
ender, 14 lbs. hay and 6 quarts of oats, or 4 quarts of Indian corn or other grain in 
lieu thereof." {Orders, General Headquarters, Morristotvn.) 

Ajrnl 11, 1777. 

Resolred, . . . That the pay of the deputy quartei-master- 
general in the Northern Department be raised to 60 dollars a month, 
in consideration of the extraordinary trouble that attends the execution 
of the office in that department 

A2)ril 21, 1777. 

Resol/ved., That James Mease, clothier-general, be directed to deliver 
to General Mifflin, Quartermaster-General, or his order, all the cloth 
in his possession fit for tents. 

April 24, 1777. — Congress authorized General Washington to order General Mifflin, 
Quartermaster-General, to continue in Philadelphia for some time, if the public 
service would admit of his absence from the Army. 

Mcnj 13, 1777. 

Ordered, That the secret committee deliver to the Quartermaster- 
General the linen in their hands iit for tents. 

May U, 1777. 

Resolved, That the Quartermaster-General of the Army be author- 
ized and empowered to appoint one commissary of forage for the 
Army, and one for each of the military departments thereof, with such 
and so many forage masters as he shall judge necessary. 

2. That the duty of the commissary of forage shall be to purchase 
such quantities of forage and store the same in such magazines as the 
Quartermaster-General or deput}' quartermaster-general of any de- 
partment shall from time to time order and direct. That the com- 
missaries shall conform themselves in making purchases to such rules 
and regulations as shall be prescribed to them by the quartermaster- 
general of the department to which they shall severally belong. 

3. That all forage purchased by any commissary of forage and 
delivered into any magazine shall be received by the forage master 
thereunto appointed, who yhall give his receipt for the same, specify- 
ing the .sort, quantity, and quality, as a. voucher for the commissary of 
forage, to be by him produced to the Quartermaster-General or deputy 
quartermaster-general of the department in support of his account. 

4. The conmiissaries of forage shall make a monthly return to the 
Quartermaster-General or deputy quartermaster-general of the depart- 
ment of all forage by them purchased, specifying to what forage 
master and into which magazine the same was delivered, that the 
forage master may stand charged therewith. 



THE QUARTERMASTEe's DEPARTMENT. 149 

5. No forage master to whose care any magazine of forage shall be 
committed shall issue an}^ part thereof unless by a written order of 
the Connnander in Chief, the commander in chief of the department, 
the commanding officer of the post where such magazhiemay be estab- 
lished, the Quartermaster-General or deputy quartermaster-general of 
the department, or one of his assistants, the wagon-master-general, or 
any other wagon master; such orders to specify for whose use the for- 
age is intended; and every such order to be filed by the forage master, 
and a regular entry thereof made, in a book to be by him kept for that 
purpose, as a voucher for the expenditure of the forage by him received, 

6. The forage masters shall make monthly returns to the Quarter- 
master-General and deputy quartermaster-general of the departments 
they belong to of the state of their magazines, specifying the quantity 
left in store at the first and every succeeding return, the quantity 
received since the last return, the expenditure since such return, and 
what remains on hand. 

7. And whereas it frequently happens that there is a necessity to 
detain hired carriages, the owners whereof were to find their own for- 
age, far beyond the time for which the owners thereof agreed to serve, 
and who, if their own forage is expended, must have recourse to the 
public magazines, it is resolved that such* persons so detained and 
become destitute of forage shall, upon the written order of any of the 
officers mentioned in the fifth resolution, be supplied out of the public 
magazines, and the wagon master, })efore he signs the discharge for any 
such hired carriage, shall direct the forage master to endorse thereon 
the quantity, sort, and quality of the foi'age furnished such person, 
that the same may be deducted out of the wages due to the owner of 
such hired carriage; all which diKluctions shall, by the Quartermaster- 
General or deputy quartermaster-general of the department, be carried 
to the credit of the forage master's accounts who shall have furnished 
the forage. 

8. If the commissary of forage in any department should be ordered 
to procure such large quantities of forage as to render it impossible 
for him to do it without assistance, the Quartermaster-General or 
deputy quartermaster-general of the department shall direct one or 
more of his assistants to aid the commissary of forage, pointing out 
the districts in which they are severally to purchase, that one may not 
enhance the price by bidding above another. 

- 9. Whereas, notwithstanding the orders that have been from time to 
time issued b}^ general officers of our Army to prevent the loss and 
embezzlement of intrenching tools and other military stores, great 
waste hath been made; to prevent which, for the future, it is resolved 
thatevery commissary of stores, storekeeper, or person to whose charge 
and care any military stores of Avhat kind whatsoever shall be com- 
mitted, shall pass his receipt, and stand charged to be accountable for 
the same, and shall not issue any of them without taking a receipt for 
the same, the receiver promising to ])e accountable; and if any person 
having received any such stores shall lose or embezzle the same,' the 
commissary, storekeeper, or person by whom they were delivered shall 
charge him with the value thereof and transmit a copy of such charge 
to the Paymaster-General or deputy paymaster-general of the depart- 
ment, who is to charge the same to the paymaster of the corps such 
person may belong to, unless it shall appear that such loss happened 
without an}" blamal)le negligence or omission; and if such person in 



150 LEGHSLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

the continental service shall sell or otherwise dispose of any stores 
committed to his care without a written order for so doing, issued by 
the Commander in Chief or the commander in chief of the department, 
or by a general officer commanding at a separate post, he shall be 
punished for theft, 

10. The wagon-master-general of the Army, or wagon master in any 
of the departments thereof, shall receive from the Quartermaster- 
General or deputy quartermaster-general of any department all such 
horses, cattle, and carriages as the service may require; and neither the 
wagon-master-general nor any other wagon master shall on any 
account presume to purchase any horses, cattle, or carriages for the 
public service without the express order of the Commander in Chief, 
the commander in chief of the department, the Quartermaster-General, 
or deputy quartermaster-general of a department; nor shall the wagon- 
master-general, or any other wagon master, hire any horses, cattle, or 
carriages unless by the authority aforesaid or l)y that of an assistant 
deputy quartermaster-general. 

11. The Quartermaster-General shall appoint such assistants and 
make svich arrangements for conducting the lousiness of his department 
as to him and to the Conmiander in Chief and commander of the depart- 
ments shall seem most conduciAC to the public weal; and a copy of such 
arrangements, specifying the names of the assistants, commissaries of 
forage, wagon masters, forage masters, and clerk of the several depart- 
ments shall 1)6 transmitted to the board of war; and every assistant of 
the Quartermaster-General of the Arm}^, and every assistant of the 
deputy quartermastei'-general of the several departments thereof, shall 
make monthly returns of every article of what kinds soever that may 
be in or at any of the forts, encampments, magazines, or places in the 
district, committed to his care, to the deputy quartermaster-general of 
the department, noting what is good, what is reparable, and what is 
unfit for further service in separate columns; from which returns the 
deputy quartermaster-general shall make one general return, in which 
shall be specified the total of all the articles in every district within his 
department, one copy whereof shall be monthly transmitted to the 
board of war, one to the commander in chief of the department, and one 
to the Quartermaster-General; from which returns the Quartermaster- 
General shall make out a general return, specifjnng what is in each 
department and every district thereof, one copy whereof shall be 
monthly transmitted to the board of war, one to the Commander in 
Chief, and one to the commander of each department. 

12. Every assistant quartermaster, commissary of forage, wagon- 
master-general, forage master, and every other person employed in 
the Quartermaster-Generars branch who shall neglect to make such 
monthly returns, shall be dismissed the service by the Quartermaster- 
General or the deputy quai-termaster-general of the department to 
which such delinquent belongs. 

13. And in order that all deputy quartermasters-general and assist- 
ants may make their returns in such a manner as to avoid that great 
confusion which has heretofore arisen from a want of method, the 
Quartermaster-Cjeneral is to furnish his deputies with a form, copies 
whereof tbcy are to deliver to the assistants and to every person in 
the Quartermaster-General's branch, who may be called upon for a 
return. 

14. The Quartermaster-General and the deputy quartermasters- 



THE quartermaster's DEPARTMENT. 151 

general in the several departments shall have full po^er and be author- 
ized, with the consent of the Commander in Chief or commander of 
the department, to dismiss any person by them employed who shall 
refuse or neg-lect any duty enjoined by the foregoing resolutions, or 
any other dut}" he may be charged with, and to appoint others in the 
stead of such as may be dismissed. 

15. The general and Commander in Chief of our armies and the 
commander of any department thereof shall be allowed as mucn forage 
for their horses and those of their suit as the service may require. 

16. A major-general and a brigadier-general, not having the com- 
mand of a separate department, shall each be allowed forage for six 
horses for themselves, their aids-de-camp, or brigade majors, and 
servants. 

IT. The Commander in Chief and the commander in any separate 
department shall l^e authorized to allow such quantities of forage, and 
for and during- such times as they shall think proper to the Quarter- 
master-General and his deputies, to the muster-master-general and his 
deputies, the chief engineer and his assistants, the commissary -general 
and his deputies, the director-general of the hospital, his subs and 
surgeons-general, to the adjutant-general and his deputies, to the 
colonels, lieutenant-colonels, majors, adjutants, quartermasters, and 
surgeons of regiments, and to provost-marshals, or to such and so many 
of the before-mentioned officers and their deputies as the service shall 
necessarih^ require: Provided aJmtys^ That if any of the officers above 
mentioned, their deputies or assistants, should be allowed forage in 
consequence of an}^ general orders hereafter given and should never- 
theless not keep any or so many horses as they would be permitted to 
draw forage for, in such case no forage shall be issued for more horses 
than they really have, nor shall they at any time thereafter be allowed 
an}^ forage as back allowance or any money in lieu thereof. 

18. A deputy quartermaster-general shall be appointed to each 
department and one to e-ach grand division of the Army, the rank of 
the former to be that of a colonel, of the latter that of a lieutenant- 
colonel. 

10. The Quartermaster-General, with the approbation of the Com- 
mander in Chief or connnander in any separate department, shall 
appoint a competent number of deputy quartermasters-general, a 
wagon-master-general, and so many wagon masters as the service from 
time to time requires, jind make a return to the Board of War of the 
names of the persons so appointed, 

20. Resolved^ That Major-General Mifflin l)e allowed, for his service 
as Quartermaster-General, 166 dollars per month, in addition to his pay 
as major-general. 

That the pay of a deput}^ quartermaster-general of a grand division 
of the Army be 75 dollars per month. 

That the pay of an assistant deputy quartermaster-general be 40 
dollars per month, and that he have the rank of captain. 

That the pay of a wagon-master-general be 75 dollars per month. 

That the pay of a deputy wagon-master-general be 50 dollars a 
month. 

That the pay of the barrack-master-general be 75 dollars a month. 

That the pay of a wagon master or conductor of wagons be 40 
dollars a month. 

That the pay of a forage master be 40 dollars a month. 



152 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

May 14, 1777. — "Joseph Thornbiirg, esq., is ajipointed waggon-inaster-gi'm-ral." 
( Orders, General Headqtiarters, Morrhtovm. ) 

June 4, 1777. — -General INIifilin wrote to Congress that General AVashington had 
informed him of his anxious desire to have the heads of the several departments in 
the field -with him, whereupon C-ongress adopted a resolve that (jeneral Mifflin be 
given leave to repair immediately to headquarters. 

Jmw U\ 1777. 

Resolved^ . . . XXIV. That no provisions l)e issued to any 
person T)nt ]\y the written order of . . . the Quartermaster- 
General, an}" of his deputies or assistants. 

* * -X- 

XXIX. That whenever an}^ capital magazine shall be established, 
the Commander in Chief or conunanding- officer of the department 
shall order storehouses to be built and a barrack for fifty men, and 
the same to be inclosed with a stockade. 

* * vv 

XXXV. That the commissaries-general and the respective ofiicers 
under them apply to the Qiiartermaster-General or his respective offi- 
cers for wagons, teams, and horses wanted in the several districts; 
and if at any time it shall be necessary to hire the same, they are not 
to exceed the rates stipulated by Congress or the Quartern^-aster-Cen- 
eral aforesaid. 

XXXVI. That all persons employed to purchase for the United 
States any articles in the several departments of the . . . quar- 
termaster . , . shall previously apply to them, or the principal 
officers under them, respectively, for certificates of the several prices 
by them allowed for such articles, and shall not on any pretence what- 
soever exceed such prices. 

June lh\ 1777. 

Resolved. That Joseph Thornbiu-g, wagon-master-general, have the 
rank of lieutenant-colonel in the Arnry' of the United States. 

July 1, 1777. — "Jonathan MifHin, esq., and Henry Emanuel Lutterloh, esq., are 
appointed deputy quartermasters-general for this army with the rank of colonel." 

" Clement Biddle, esq., is appointed commissary -general of forage of this army." 
( Order.'t, General Headquarters, Middle Brook. ) 

Augvst 1, 1777. 

Resolved^ . . . That the Quartermaster-General l)e directed to 
appoint a deputy quartermaster-general in the said State [Georgia]. 

Awju.<<t 0\ 1777. 

Resolved, That John M'Coomb, of Princeton, l)e authorized to act 
as quartermaster at that place for such detachments of the Arm}" as 
may be passing that way until the Quartermaster-General shall give 
further directions on this subject. 

September 10, 1777. — The Quartermaster-General was ordered to submit to Congress 
a list of all deputies and assistants employed in his department and how and where 
employed. 

September 16, 1777. — The Quartermaster-General was ordered to remove to Bethle- 
hem, Pa., or some other place of safety, the stores l)elonging to his dejiartment ordered 
to, or deposited in, Trenton, N. J. 



THE QUAETERMASTER's DEPARTMENT. 153 



Resolved^ That the . . . Quartermaster-General and their dep- 
uties, respectively, l)e directed to provide and supply, in the places 
where Congress may meet, such articles of their respective depart- 
ments as may be required by the several members thereof, for the use 
of themselves, th(4r servants and horses, the said members paying the 
cost of the said articles; and that this resolution extend to the secre- 
taries, treasurer, and the officers of the several boards and committees 
of Congress. 

Octolx'r 10, 1777. — On account of ill healtli, General Mifflin returned his commis- 
sions of major-freneral and Quartermaster-General. 

Noremher 2, 1777. — "The division and brigade quartermasters are to provide straw 
for the troops, taking none that is not threshed." {Orders, General Headquarters, 
Whitemarsh.) 

November 7, 1777. — General Mifflin's resignation as Quartermaster-General was 
accepted, but his commission as major-general was returned to him without the pay 
annexed to the office, until further order of Congress. He was, same day, elected 
member of the Board of War. 

Novemler 8, 1777. 

Re.^olved^ That General Mitflin l)e directed, notwithstanding his res- 
ignation of Quartermaster-General is accepted, to continue in the exer- 
cise of that office, and that he be invested with full powers to act until 
another Quartermaster-General is appointed and enters upon the duties 
of the office. 

Novemlrr 19, 1777. 

Resolved., That David Poe be appointed quartermaster for the town 
of Baltimore, in the State of Maryland, in the room of and for the 
purpose for which Jared Hopkins, who declines acting, was appointed. 

November 22, 1777. — In view of the difficulty of purchasing any stores at reasonable 
prices, the several States were invited to adopt and enforce a temporary regulation of 
prices. 

No'vewher ^.^, 1777. 

The committee appointed to prepan^ a plan for establishing a board 
to superintend the departments of the commissaries and Quartermaster- 
General report: 

That as a board of war, consisting of persons not members of Con- 
gress, has been lately established, and the late Quartermaster-General 
is a member thereof, the committee are of opinion that a considerable 
expense may ])e saved by adding to the board a person acquainted with 
the commercial business, and authorizing it to superintend each of the 
civil departments of the Army: Whereupon, 

Re-Holred., That Congress concur with the committee. 

N'ovemher 25, 1777. 

Resolved, That Governor Caswell be desired to appoint proper per- 
sons within the State of North Carolina to purchase with secrecy and 
despatch all the merchantable leather and deerskins in that State proper 
for making . . . saddles, harness, and military accoutrements, 
. ". . delivering the residue of the said leather [not used for making 
shoes and breeches] to the order of the board of war. 



154 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Becemher 1, 1777. — Mr. James Yule was appointed wagon master to General De 
Kall:)'s division. [Orders, General Headquarters, Wltiteinarsh, Fa.) 

December 18, 1777. — "The colonels or commanding officers of regiments, with their 
captains, are immediately to cause their men to be divided into squads of twelve, 
and see that each squad have their proportion of tools, and set about a hut for them- 
selves; and as encouragement to industry and art the general promises to reward the 
party in each regiment which finishes their hut in the quickest and most workmanlike 
manner with twelve dollars. And as there is reason to believe that boards for cover- 
ing may be found scarce and ditficult to be got, he offers one hundred dollars to any 
officer or soldier who, in the opinion of three gentlemen he shall appoint as judges, 
shall substitute some other covering that may be cheaper and quicker made, and will 
in every respect answer the end." {Orders, General Headquarters, at the Gulph.) 

December 20, 1777. — "The Quartermaster-General is to delay no time, but use his 
utmost exertions, to procure large quantities of straw, either for covering the huts, 
if it should be found necessary, or for beds for the soldiers. He is to assure the 
farmers that unless they get their grain out immediately the straw will be taken with 
the grain in it, and paid for as straw only." {Orders, General Headquarters, (d the 
Valley Forge.) 

December 22, 1777 . — "The quartermaster is to provide a number of pails, that every 
hut may have one. " {Orders, Gener/d Headquarters, Vail Forge.) 

Janmiry 6', 1778. 

Hesolmd, That General Heath ho directed to order the deputy quar- 
termaster-general \n the Eastern Department forthwith to provide 
1,000 good bell tents, and send them to the Army under the command 
of General Washington. 

January 13^ 1778. 

Resolved, . . . That a deputy quartermaster-general . . . 
be appointed to act pro tempore for the troops aforesaid [from New 
Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island, and Coiinecticut, con- 
stantly employed in Rhode Island for the defence of the State and of 
the Providence PlantationsJ; that the deptity quartermaster-general 
be appointed by the officer commanding at that post [Provi- 
dence], and that each . . . take the oath of fidelity and office. . . . 

Fehrnanj S, 1778. 

And whereas many persons emploj-ed as deputy ... or quar- 
termasters, or in other civil departments, are dispersed in various parts 
of the continent, over whom neither Congress nor the head of their 
respective departments can have the immediate inspection: 

Re.soleed, That it be recommended to the legislative and execiitive 
authority of every State to take effectual measitres for preventing any 
person within their States from exercising an}- office in the civil 
department of the Army . . . under Congress who shall not, 
when thereunto required by an}^ magistrate, produce a legal appoint- 
ment to such office and a certificate of his having taken the foregoing 
oaths or affirmations, or who shall neglect or refuse to take and sub- 
scribe the said oaths or affirmations within the time above limited. 

Fel)TuaTy S; 1778. 

Resolved., That the following plan be adopted for carrying into 
immediate execution the important business of the Quartermaster- 
General : 

1st. The military line to be styled the Quartermaster-General's, which 



THE QTTARTERMASTEK's DEPARTMENT. 155 

is to include the re^-ulating- of marches, encampments, order of battle, 
etc., etc, as described in the books of the profession: 

This officer not to have the disposal of public money, except small 
occasional sums for defra^ying- petty expenses in the Army. 

2d. The commissary of forage, who is to be ccnhned to that article 
in his purchases. 

3d. The commissary for horses and wagons. 

4tli. The agents for the purchase of tents, entrenching tools, build- 
ing of l)arracks, and for all the smaller supplies of the department. 

'The three last to be governed in their purchases by the estimates 
and orders of the Quartermaster-General or the board of war. 

Ordered., That the board of war prepare suitalile regulations for the 
Quartermaster-Generars Department agreea]>lc to the foregoing plan. 

Felyniarri 6', 1778. 

Resolved^ . . . That the Quartermaster-General and his deputies 
be respectively directed to provide the auditors in each army with a 
convenient house near headquarters, and that no other officers be quar- 
tered therein. 

That for the preservation of the pul^lic papers, the Quartei-master- 
General or his deputies shall. provide for the auditors in each arni}^ 
a good covered wagon with horses, under their direction, . 

Fehruary 11, 1778. 

Resolved., . . . The Quartermaster-General, his deputies and 
assistants, shall give the commissary-general [of niilitary stores] every 
assistance of teams for the removal of public stores, 

February IJ^, 1778. 

Whereas . . . the general assembly of Pennsylvania have, by 
a law, appointed commissaries in each county within their State, to 
purchase or seize . . . provisions, etc., for the supply of the 
Army, pursuant to such orders as they shall receive from Congress. 

Resolved, . . . That the said commissaries deliver . . . the 
forage to the order of the commissary of forage or his assistants, to 
whom severally they are directed to send immediate notice, when such 
purchases are made, . 

Fehruary M, 1778. 

Resolved, That the committee of Congress at the camp, in conjunc- 
tion with General Washington, be authorized forthwith to make the 
proper appointments for the Quartermastei'-Generars Department: 

* ic * 

Resolved, That ihv. Board of War immediately employ a suitable 
number of proper persons on the east side of Susquehanna to pur- 
chase . . . forage for the Army, 

3farch 2, 1778. 

A letter of Februaiy 'l^>t\\ from the couunittee at camp was read, 
proposing a new arrangement of the Quartermaster-GeneraPs Depart- 



150 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

meiit and commending- persons to execute the ))usiness of the said 
department. 

Congress, taking into consideration the arrangement proposed by the 
committee, 

Resolved, That the same be adopted, instead of that agreed to on the 
5th day of February, and that there be one Quartermaster-General and 
two assistant quartermasters-general. 

That these three be allowed for their trouble and expense one per 
cent upon the monies issued in the department, to be divided as they 
shall agree, and including an addition to the pa}^ of the wagon-master- 
general and his deputy; 

That Major-General Greene be appointed Quartermaster-General; 

That ffohn Cox and Charles Pettit, csqs., be appointed Assistant 
Quartermasters-General; 

That the forage-masters, wagon-masters, and other officers in the 
department be in the appointment of the Quartermaster-General, who 
is to bo responsible for their conduct. 

Resolved^ That Major-General Greene re.ain his rank of major-gen- 
eral in the Arm}^ 

Aj^rll 11, 1778. ■ 

Ordered^ That Colonel Cox, assistant quartermaster-general, employ 
a deputy to attend Congress and procure good stables and provender 
for their horses and proper persons to take care of the same, and that 
he receive from each member his just proportion of the expense. 

Mmj ;?, 1778. — Congress authorized the Commissioners at Fort Pitt, or, in their 
absence, the officer appointed to command on the western frontier, to appoint a 
proper person to perfonn the duties of quartermaster to the militia of the counties of 
Rockingham, Augusta, Rockbridge, Botetourt, Montgomery, Wasliington, and 
Greenbrier, Va. 

May 21, 1778. — General Mifflin was granted leave to join General Washington's 
army. 

2fay 9.7, 1778. 

Bemlved, . . . That the brigade quartermaster be appointed by 
the Quartermaster-General out of the captains or subalterns in the 
brigade to which he shall be appointed. 

* * * 

Ee.solred, That in addition to their pay as officers in the line there 
be allowed to . . . a brigade quartermaster, 15 dollars. 

* * * 

Resob'ed, That . . . ])rigade quartermasters heretofore ap- 
pointed from the line shall hold their present rank and be admissible 
into the line again in the same rank they held when taken from the 
line, provided that no . . . quartermaster shall have the com- 
mand of any ofiicers who commanded him when in line. 

Mai/ 29, 1778. 

Whereas Congress, in the present arrangement of the Quartermaster- 
GeneraFs Department, have given the Quartermaster-General the 
appointment of the subordinate officers of that department; 

Besolved, That Udney Hay, esq., who, under the former arrange- 
ment of the said department, wa's appointed assistant deputy quarter- 



THE quartermaster's DEPARTMENT. 157 

master-general at Ticonderoo-a and a lieutenant-colonel by brevet, can 
not now hold that office by virtue of the said appointment, nor be 
entitled to any privilege or emolument which either does at present 
or may hereafter accrue to any officer of the same rank in the line. 

June 4, 1778. — Congress appointed Messrs. Carroll, ISIatthews, and Wentworth a 
committee to extract from the journals, for publication, the regulations of the 
Quartermaster' s Dei)artnient. 

,hine 11, 177S. — Patrick Lockhart, esq., was appointed to procure pack horses and 
other necessaries for the expedition to reduce the garrison of Detroit and compel 
terms of peace fi'om such of the Indian nations now in arms against the States lying 
on or contiguous to the route between Fort Pitt and Detroit. The expedition was 
deferred by resolve of July 25, 1778. 

Jidy 28, 1778. 

Oi'dered, That the Quartermaster-General furnish the Hon. the 
Sieur Gerard, minister plenipotentiary of his most Christian Majesty, 
with such and so many horses and such forage as he shall direct, and 
that he deliver, from time to time, special accounts of the prices of 
the said horses and forage to the board of treasuiy. 

Augw<t 12, 1778. 

Resolved, That ever}^ officer in the Army of the United States 
whose duty requires his being on horseback in time of action, and 
whose horse shall be killed in action, be allowed a sum not exceeding 
500 dollars as a compensation for his horse so killed, this resolution 
to have retrospect as far as the first day of May, 1777; and the Quar- 
termaster-General be, and is hereby, authorized to pay the value of 
such horses, not exceeding the said sum, to the respective sufi'erers, 
on the facts being properly authenticated. 

August 16, 1778. — "John Storey, esq., is appointed in the Quartermaster's Depart- 
ment to receive and take care of all the intrenching tools." {Orders, General 
Headquarters. ) 

Augmt 17, 1778. 

Resolved, That each officer in the department of the Quartermaster 
and Barrackmaster General attending Congress be directed, from time 
to time, to render to the several members accounts of the articles sup- 
plied them respectively, according to the cost thereof; such accounts 
to be paid to the paymaster of the board of war and ordnance. . . . 

August 17, 1778. — General ]\Iifflin tendered his resignation. 

Srjideinher 11, 1778. 

Resolved, . . . That General Washington be informed that 
Congress have given orders for the purchase of 20,000 barrels of flour, 
to be transported by water for that purpose; and that he be authorized 
and directed to fix on the places where the said magazines shall be 
established and to give the necessary orders to the Quartermaster- 
General . . . for carrying this resolution into execution. 

September 11, 1778. — Congress having approved General Washington's recom- 
mendation that magazines be established in Massachusetts and Connecticut, at con- 
venient places distant from the Sound, he was directed to give the necessary orders 
to the Quartermaster-General, 



158 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Sept cutler i^, 1778. 

Mesolved.) That the Quartermaster-General be directed to order the 
commissary of forage to give immediate directions to his deputies and 
assistants not to purchase any wheat for forage, except in the vicinity 
of camp, unless in cases of absolute necessity; and when such cases 
arise, that the reasons for deviating from this order be transmitted to 
the counuissary of forage, and by him submitted to the opinion of the 
Quartermaster-General. 

Resolved^ That the commissary-general of purchases be directed to 
give orders to his deputies and assistants forthwith to deliA^er to the 
commissary of forage and his deputies the bad wheat and otfals of 
wheat which they at present have or may hereafter have in their 
respective possessions; and, further, that the said commissary-general 
issue orders to the purchasers to be careful not to purchase in future 
damaged wheat, as the same is found b}" experience extremely injurious 
even for the purposes of forage. 

Resolved., That the Quartermaster-General be directed to consult 
with the Commander in Chief whether a reduction of the stationary 
teams can not be made consistently with the good of the service, or 
whether ox teams can not, in the present seat of war, be substituted 
in a great measure for horse teams; and if General Washington shall 
be of opinion that both or either of these measures are advisable that 
the Quartermaster-General take measures for carrying the same into 
execution in such manner as shall be deemed most consistent with the 
good of the Army and a regard to public economy. 

October '2, 1778. 

Resolved., That it be earnestly recommended to the legislative or, 
when vested with sufficient power, to the executive authorities of the 
States above mentioned [New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Dela- 
ware, Maryland, and Virginia] to authorize and direct any civil mag- 
istrate within their respective jurisdiction, on an information given 
by the . . . Quartermaster-General, or by the deputy . . . 
quartermaster-general of the respective districts, of any extraordi- 
nary quantity of grain . . . being purchased and in the possession 
of individuals forthwith to issue his warrant empowering the inform- 
ant to seize the same for the public use, paying for the same such 
prices as to the respective legislatures appear proper, to prevent the 
practice of engrossing those articles in future, . . 

(M(>l>er IS, 1778. 

Resolved, That Joseph Clay, esq., deputy paymaster-general in the 
State of Georgia, be empowered and directed to pay into the hands of 
the . . . deputy quartermaster, . .. . in the said States (they 
obtaining a warrant from the commanding officer in the Southern 
department) such sum or sums of money as may be wanting in their 
respective departments; . 

Resolved., That the . . . deputv quartermaster . , . in the 
State of Georgia, when they deliver their respective accounts of expend- 
itures to the deputy paymaster-general, do cause to be specified, on 
the receipts of the said accounts, that the same were paid in conti- 
nental currency, and that the sum be fully expressed in words. 



THE QUARTERMASTEE's DEPARTMENT. 159 

October 18, 1778. 

Hesolved, That for the future no wheat be purchased for forage "by 
any person for the use of the United States unless Congress shall 
order otherwise. 

October 2^, 1778. 

Whereas upon the evacuation of this cit}^ [Philadelphia] by the 
British army, certain seizures were made of goods and effects, sup- 
posed to belong to the subjects of Great Britain, and other goods were 
taken up under contracts entered into with the inhabitants of this city 
by the officers, in the departments of the quartermaster , . . gen- 
erals, and a committee hath l>een appointed by Congress to examine into 
the conduct of the said officers in making the said seizures and con- 
tracts, that justice may be done to the public and individuals, but report 
hath not yet been made: 

Hesolved,, That the board of war direct such of the said goods, 
whether seized or contracted for, as may be wanted for the immediate 
use of the Army, ... to be appropriated for that purpose; and 
that the board of war direct that proper accounts be kept of the goods 
so appropriated, the quantity and qualit}^, and of whom seized, and 
with whom contracted for. 

November 10, 1778. — Congress, having resolved that speedy and vigorous measures 
should be taken to regulate the Quartermaster's Department, appointed Messrs 
Scudder, G. Morris, and Whipple a committee to superintend that department. 

JS'ovember 17, 1778. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a . . . deputy quarter- 
master-general for the troops in the Southern Department, and the 
ballots being taken, 

Stephen Drayton was elected deputy quartermaster-general 
for the troops in the Southern Department, they having been previ- 
oush' nominated by the delegates of South Carolina. 

Noveraber 19, 1778. 

Whereas it has become necessary not only that speedy and vigorous 
measures shoidd be taken to regulate the . . . quartermaster's 
department, but also that a constant attention should be paid to those 
departments : 

ReHoUed, That Mr. Scudder, Mr. G. Morris, and Mr. Whipple be a 
committee to superintend the same departments and that they, or any 
two of them, be empowered to take such steps relating to the same as 
they shall think the most for the public service. 

JS^ovember 30, 1778. 

Resolved, That in jdl cases when forage is wanted for the troops, and 
can not be purchased by the commissaries at reasonable rates, application 
be made to the executive and legislati^'e authority of the State wherein 
the forage is required, or to some person or persons properly author- 
ized by them for that purpose, for their interposition and assistance in 
procuring the necessary supplies. 



160 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

January 23, 1779. — General Washington was directed, June 11, 1778, to order an 
inquiry into the conduct of General INIitilin, late Quartermaster-General, and others 
of that department. The Congressional committee (Messrs. G. Morris, Beed, and 
Witherspoon) appointed August 17, 1778, having reported that no proceedings had 
been had on the subject, submitted that if the resolve of June 11, 1778, was to be 
executed, the same should he done hy a court of inquiry and court-martial in the 
usual manner. Congress having agreed to the report, ordered that a copy be furnished 
the Commander in Chief. 

Fehrnary 1, 1770. 

Resolved^ That the Commander in Chief give such directions as 
he ma}^ think proper for arranging" the . . . quartermaster's 
departments to the westward, an}^ resolutions of Congress notwith- 
standing. 

Fehruarij '20, 1779. 

Besohied.^ That the portmanteaus and valises furnished to the officers 
of the Army by the Quartermaster-General, pursuant to the orders of 
the Commander in Chief, be charged to the United States, and the 
officers permitted to retain them for their own use; provided that no 
officer shall be more than once furnished at the public expense with 
the articles aforesaid unless unavoidably lost or taken by the enemy in 
time of action. 

February 20, 1770. — The ciuartermaster at the prisoners' camp in Virginia was 
directed to reside at or near the barracks, and the governor and the council of Vir- 
ginia were requested to superintend the conduct of those in charge of the camp. 

February 25, 1779. — Gen. Thomas Mifflin resigned. 

March o, 1779. 

Resolved., That the Quartermaster-General . . . and such of 
their deputies as they shall appoint for that purpose be, and they are 
hereby, authorized and directed to pay all certificates (of the authen- 
ticity whereof they are or shall be satisfied) for . . . forage, 
. or other articles, within the lines of their respective depart- 
ments, furnished by the inhabitants to the troops on detachments, or 
in cases of necessit}'^ when supplies could not be obtained in a regular 
course; for which sums so to be paid they shall be allowed for their 
trouble one-half per cent, and no more. The evidence of such sup- 
plies being furnished shall, so far as regards the party of whom 
received, be the certificates of the officers receiving them. But the 
officers in the said departments . . . paying the same shall notify 
the officers who gave such certificates to render an account of the 
application of the articles so received, and the said officers are hereby 
directed to render such accounts accordingly; and the said quarter- 
master . . . and their deputies so paying the said certificates 
are hereby authorized and empowered to examine and settle the said 

accounts. 

* * * 

Resolved., That certificates hereafter given by commissioned officers 
for articles ' received for the use of the Army be signed with their 
nanie at full length and the rank they hold, and if under a general 
officer, that the regiment to which they belong be added. 

That the particular articles received be inserted in the body of the 
certificate; their value, the time when, and place where received in 
letters and not in fisfures. 



THE QUARTEKMASTEE's DEPARTMENT. 161 

That the certificates Ix; directed to the principal of the department 
whose duty it is to provide the articles so received or his nearest 
deputy; separate rec(Mpts to be given whensoever the articles apper- 
tain to the several departments. 

That officers keep exact copies of the certificates they give, and 
transmit other copies to the nearest deputy or agent in the depart- 
ment, giving him the necessary information respecting the business. 

That the deputies transmit copies of all the certificates they pay to 
their principals, that inquiry may be made whether the giving the cer- 
tificates was necessary for the public service and whether the things 
received have been properly applied. 

Marcli m, 1779. 

That the . . . Quartermaster-General pa}^ to the memorialists 
[merchants of Philadelphia], from whom goods were taken for public 
use, the current price of the same at the time when the said goods were 
taken. 

March 13, 1779. 

Resolved, That the . . . Quartermaster-General lie directed to 
lay before Congress, without delay, a full account of the sales and dis- 
tribution of the goods taken from the inhabitants of Philadelphia when 
that city was evacuated by the enemy. 

March 16, 1779. 

Whereas, discontent, loss of strength, and diminution of the strength 
of the line ha^'e arisen by employing the Continental troops as wag- 
oners, and it will be of public advantage to enlist proper persons for 
that service during the war: 

Resolved, therefore, That the Commander in Chief be authorized and 
directed to take proper measures for causing to be enlisted such a 
muiiber of wagoners as he shall judge necessary for the service, to 
continue therein to the end of the war; that each wagoner voluntarily 
engaging for that period shall be entitled, in addition to the present 
monthly pay, clothing, and subsistence allowed to wagoners, to the 
same bounties, in all respects, as are granted to volunteers who shall 
enlist in the Continental battalions for the term of the war; that the 
Quartermaster-General shall establish such regulations for the con- 
duct of the said corps of wagoners as shall be judged expedient, and 
approved of by the Commander in Chief; in which care shall be taken 
that regular returns be made to the Board of War of the number of 
wagoners ordered to be raised, as well as of those who shall actually 
engage in the service; that the same form, as near as may be, shall be 
pursued in mustering and paying the said corps of wagoners as is 
practiced with respect to the troops of the line; that the Quartermaster- 
General be authorized to appoint a paymaster and nuister master for 
the said corps of wagoners, and transmit their names, and the regula- 
tions hereby authorized to ])e made, to the Board of War, to be respec- 
tively registered. 

Rewired, That all wai'rant officers on the civil staff of the Army be 
put on the same footing with commissioned officers in respect to 
arrests, trials, and punishments. 

S. Doc. 229 11 



162 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

April 17, 1779. 

Mesolved., That the Commander in Chief he authorized and directed 
to take such measures for enlisting a competent number of wagoners, 
to continue in service for nine months, or during the ensuing campaign, 
as shall ])y him be deemed most efficacious and proper. 

That the wagoners so enlisted shall receive a sum not exceeding 40 
dollars per month, and a suit of clothes as a bounty. 

That such regulations shall be established by the Quartermaster- 
General for the conduct, mustering, and paying of the said corps of 
wagoners as shall be judged expedient, and approved of by the Com- 
mander in Chief. 

That all regulations made in Adrtue hereof, and the numl)er of wag- 
oners enlisted, be, from time to time, returned and reported by the 
Quartermaster-General to the Board of War. 

licsolved, That the act of Congress of the 16th of March, on the 
subject of enlisting wagoners, be, and the same is hereljy, repealed. 

Aj)ril 23, 1779. 

Ref^ol/uea, That the Quartermaster-General be empowered and 
directed to emplo}' so many wagons as shall be necessary for the use 
of the Army, upon the best terms on which they can be obtained; pro- 
vided such terms are approved by the Commander in Chief. 

IFcnj 11, 1779. 

Resolved, That all deputy quartermasters-general who transact busi- 
ness upon commissions shall not be entitled either to pay or rations; 
Init when they act without receiving such commissions, whether sta- 
tioned at a post or with the Army, they shall be allowed 200 dollars per 
month, two rations per day, and 40 dollars per month subsistence. 

That the pay of an assistant quartermaster be 140 dollars per month 
and the usual rations and subsistence. 

That the pay of a deputy wagon-master-general be 100 dollars per 
month and one ration per da}^ and 20 dollars j)er month subsistence; 
and that a wagon master be allowed 80 dollars per month, one ration 
per day, and 10 dollars per month subsistence. 

That a deputy conmiissary-general of forage attending the main 
Ai'my, or attached to an army in a separate department, be allowed 
the same pay and rations as a deputy quartermaster-general acting 
without commissions. 

That the assistant commissaries of forage either attending the Army 
to collect forage on a march, or those employed in purchasing under 
the principal purchasers in districts, shall have the same allowance as 
the assistant deputy quartermasters-general; and the forage masters 
who attend the receipt and issues of forage at posts or magazines, and 
one with each brigade of the Arm}^, lie allowed the same pay and 
rations as wagon masters. 

May 27, 1779. — The troops are to apply to the Quartermastcr-< leneral without delay 
for tents in the following proportion for each regiment: 
One marquee and one horseman's tent for the field officers. 
One horseman's tent for the officers of each company. 
One walled tent for the adjutant. 
One walled tent for the (juartermaster. 
One walled tent for the surgeon and mate 
One walled tent f(jr the j)aymaster. 



THE QUARTEEMASTER's DEPARTMENT. 163 

One common tent for the sergeant-major and ciuartermaHter-serweant. 

One common tent for the fife and drum major. 

One common tent for the noncommissioned officers of each company and one for 
every six privates, inchiding drum and fifes. {Orders, General Headquarters, Middle 
Brook. ) 

May m, 1779. 

The board of treasury report that the}' have considered a letter from 
the board of war of the l21st of May . . . and are of opinion — 

That Colonel Melchior [barrack-master-generalj be directed to dis- 
miss all his deputies not at this post and Charlottesville, and make 
report of the names and stations of the deputy barrack masters so 
to be dismissed to the Board of War, who shall issue orders to the 
(^uartermaster-Genertd to put the barracks under the charo-e of his 
deputies. 

Resolved., That Congress ag'ree to the report. 

June IJf^ 1770. 

Ref<()lved., That the Quartermaster-General be empowered to allow 
and pay for a wagon, driver, and four horses, 13^ dollars, one ration 
and forage per day; shoeing the horses, if done at the expense of the 
United States, to be deducted from the wages. 

Resolved, That it be recommended to these States to exempt all 
drivers of wagons employed in the service of the United States from 
militia duties, and from all fines on that account, while they are engaged 
in the service, and that such service shall be considered and allowed 
as their tour of duty in the militia for such time as they are thus 
engaged. 

July 0, 1770. 

Resolved., That the executive powers of each State be earnestly 
rc(i nested instantly to make the sti'ictest enquiry into the conduct of 
every person within such State respectively employed, either in the 
Quartermaster-General . . . departments, and in case of any kind 
of misl)ehavior, or strong suspicion thereof, in any such person not 
being an officer immediately appointed by Congress, to remove or 
susp(Mid every such person, ordering him, at their discretion, to be 
prosecuted at the expense of the United States, and to appoint another 
in his jilace, if necessary, and so, from time to time, as occasion may 
!)(>, giving notice to the board of war, and also to the Quartermaster- 
(leneral ... in whose Department such removal or suspension 
shall be, of the change; the person so appointed to have the same 
authority and pay which the person removed had been vested with 
and entitled to, or such pay as the said executive powers, respectively, 
shall agree for, to be in like manner subject to the head of the depart- 
ment to which he belongs, and to ol)serve all the regulations for the 
govtM-nment of deputy quartermasters; . . . and that the execu- 
t'wo ])()wers of each State be in like manner requested to enquire into 
tli(> mmiber of persons employed in the Quartermaster-Generars 
. . . departments, and immediatel}^ to discharge such as shall be 
judged unnecessary. 

August 17, 1770. 

Ordered, That two members be added to the committee for superin- 
tending the departments of the (Quartermaster. . . . 
The members chosen, JNIr. Root and Mr. Scudder. 



164 LEGJSLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENEEAL STAFF OF U. S. AEMY. 

AugiiM 18, 1779. 

Hesohied, That until the further order of Congress the sum of 10 
doHars be paid to every noncommissioned officer and soldier monthly 
foi' their subsistence, in lieu of those articles of food orio-inally 
intended for them and not furnished. 

Septemher 6, 1779. 

Resolved^ That the Quartermaster-General l^e directed to erect bar- 
racks at the expense of the United States for quartering- the troops in 
the State of Rhode Island. 

Septevihrr '■27, 1779. 

Resohicd, That a memb(n" l)e added to the committee appointed to 
superintend the Quartermaster . . . departments, and that 
another be elected in the room of Mr. "Whipple, who is absent. 

The members chosen, Mr. Jenifer and Mr. Mercer. 

Octoher 13, 1779. 

Resolved, That Mr. Jacol) Hiltzheimer be authorized and directed 
to provide for the horses belonging to members of Congress; that for 
this purpose the commissary -general of forage be directed to supply 
him with such articles of forage, and of such qualities as he shall 
direct, together with the account of the cost thereof. 

November 5, 1779. — Messrs. Wyiikoop and Forbes were added to the comiuittee 
appointe<l to superintend the Quartermaster's Department. 

N(ymmher P2, 1779.' 

Resolved, That the eleven companies of artificers raised b}^ the 
Quartermaster-General l)e reformed, and incorporated and arranged 
in such manner as the Commander in Chief shall deem proper. 

Noveinher 16, 1779. 

Resolved; . . . That the commanding officer of the cor})s of 
artificers shall be allowed the same pay and subsistence as a lieutenant- 
colonel. 

That the allowance <jf pay, subsistence, and clothing of the other 
officers and men of the said artificers be the same as that of the artil- 
lery artificers under the conmiand of Colonel B. Flower. 

November 25, 1779. 

Resolved, . . . That all clothing issued to . . . enlisted 
artificers and wagoners, beyond those allowed to them as a bounty, 
shall also he valued and paid for at the rate before mentioned; but no 
. . . wagoner or artificer shall be entitled to purchase in any one 

' This entry refers to the corps of wagoners authorized by the resolve of INIarch Ifi, 
177i); these comiianies were to be considered part of the quotas of the 80 battahons 
apportioned in the several States. 



THE quartermaster's DEPARTMENT. 165 

year, out of the pu])li(' store, any other additional* articles than those 
of hats, hose, shirts, and shoes, and not more of these than are abso- 
lutely necessary, and not exceeding the number of the like articles 
allowed as their })ounty clothing. 

That . . . all clothing- ... to wagoners [shall be issued] 
on the certificate of the quartermaster-general, one of the assistant 
quartermasters-general, or of the deputy quartermaster-general em- 
ploying them, or of the wagon-master-general or deputy wagon-mas- 
ter-general under whom they serve. 

That no . , . wagoner, not being engaged for at least one year, 
shall receive clothing, and if any such officer, artificer, or wagoner, 
being engaged for one year or more, after receipt of such clothing, 
shall quit the service l)efore the expiration of the term for which he 
or they are or shall be engaged, ho or they shall forfeit and pay the 
full value of such clothing, and l)e subject to all other penalties and 
inconveniences attending his or their breach of contract or desertion, 
* * ■ * 

^,'W>Z?w/, That the departments of the quartermaster-general . . . 
be, for the future, under the superintendency and direction of the 
board of war, and that the committee of Congress oi\ those depart- 
ments deliver over to the board of war all papers in their hands 
respecting them, and thereupon be discharged. 

Nowriiler :iO, 1779. 

Resolved., That the l)()ard of war be directed to procure from the 
Quartermaster-General . . . the forage master and the barrack- 
master-general a return of all the assistants, deputies, officers, agents, 
and other persons employed in their respective departments, the dis- 
tricts in which they are employed, and the terms upon which they are 
engaged, and that such returns be made by the lirst day of January 
next. 

December U, 1779. 

Whcu'cas the aid of the several States is necessary in furnishing 
. •. . supplies for carrying on the war, and justice requires that 
they be called upon to furnish their i-espective (juotas at equitable 
prices: 

BesoJvtd,, That all the States shall l)e called upon to furnish their 
quotas of such supplies as may, from time to time, l)e wanted for 
carrying on the war; and in making the requisitions due care shall be 
taken to suit the convenience of the several States, and the articles by 
them respectively furnished shall 1)0 credited towards their quotas of 
the monies which they are called upon to raise for the United States, 
at equal pi'ices for articles of the same kind and quality, and for others 
in due proportion, and the accounts shall be finally compared and 
adjusted so as to do ecjuit}" to all the States. 

December 17., 1779. 

Resol/ved, That when the legislature of any State shall have under- 
taken to procure its quota of an}- of the articles required, all pur- 
chases of such articles by the . . . quartermasters iu such State 
be discontinued. 



1G6 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

January 7, 1780. 

Ordered., That . . . the board of war ... be directed to 
discharge immediately the .supernumerary officers in the barrack- 
master's department. 

January "20^ 1780. 

Resolved., . . . That the department of the barrack-master gen- 
eral be abolished. 

.January 27, 1780. — Issues of quartermaster stores to niembers of Congress under reso- 
lution of October 2, 1777 ordered discontinued. 

February 25^ 1780. 

Remlvtd., That the several States be called on forthwith to procure 
their respective quotas of supplies for the ensuing- campaign as follows, 
to wit: 

Rhode Inland . — . . . 400 tons of hay. 

Connecticut. — , . . 500 tons of hay. 

Nev) Y(>rl\ — . . . 500 tons of hay, P)(),0(iO bushels of Indian 
corn or other short forage equivalent. 

New Jersey. — . . . 3,500 tons of hay, H0,()()(» l>ushels of corn 
or short forage equivalent. 

Pennsylvavfa. — . , . 1,700 tons of hay, 2()0,(»(i() Imshels of corn 
or short forage equivalent. 

Delaware. — . . . 500 tons of hay, 1S,0«!:2 bushels of corn or 
short forage equivalent. 

Maryland. — . . . 200 tons of hay or corn lilade, 56,152 bushels 
of corn or short forage equivalent. . . 

Ylrginia. — . . . 400 tons of hay or corn l)lade, 200,000 bush- 
els of corn or short forage equivalent. 

North Carolina. — . . . 800 tons of hay or corn blade, 80,000 
bushels of corn or short forage in proportion, 

South Carolina. — • . . . 800 tons of hay or corn blade, 80,000 
bushels of corn or short forage equivalent. 

-X- * 

Resolved., That the articles aforesaid be collected and deposited or 
delivered at the risk of the respective States in such places within 
each State, respectively, as the Commander in Chief shall judge most 
convenient. 

Provided, That such of the articles as shall be destroyed or taken by 
the enemy, after being deposited as aforesaid, or which shall be 
damaged by long keeping, shall ))e paid for by the United States, 

Resolved, That the respective States bo credited for all such commod- 
ities, being of good and sufficient qualit}", as shall be received for the 
use of the United States, b}^ persons appointed to inspect the same, at 
the prices following, to wit: 

. clean, well-dried Indian corn per bushel, one-half a dol- 
lar; oats, well cleaned, one half a dollar per bushel; . . . best 
upland first-crop hay per ton, ^^15; best Indian corn blades per ton, 
115, . . , ' 

Resol/ved, That all the accounts between these States relating to 
their quotas of the supplies aforesaid shall be kept and finally settled 
in Spanish milled dollars, and the balance finally paid in specie. 



THE quartermaster's DEPARTMENT. 167 

Rewlced^ That if it shall appear, on an adjustment of the quotas of 
the several States, that any State has supplied move than its due pro- 
portion in A'alue, every such State shall be paid the value of the sur- 
plus, at the rates aforesaid, in specie, with interest at 6 per centum 
per annum, from the time each surplus shall have been deposited as 
al)ove directed; and every State which shall have failed to supply its 
due proportion shall })e charg-ed with the deficiency, at the rates afore- 
said, and the like interest thereon, from the time that the same ought 
to have ))cen deposited. 

Remlced^ That the several States cause monthly returns to be made 
to the board of war of all such commodities as shall be procured for 
the use of the United States, specifyino- the quantities issued in each 
preceding month. 

Resolved., That when any State shall have taken the necessary 
measures for furnishing its quota of the said supplies, and shall have 
given information thereof to Congress, such State be authorized to 
carry into etlect the resolution of the 17th of December last, for dis- 
continuing purchases of such supplies, by the . . . quarter- 
masters within the same. 

Rcxolved,, . . . That the provisions furnished by authority of 
any State, for the use of the Army, since the first day of December 
last may be credited as part of the quota of supplies assigned to such 
State, at the prices fixed in the foregoing resolutions, if such State 
desire it. 

March 8, 1780. — "From the scarcity of forage and ditficulty of obtaining the neces- 
sary supplies, the general calls for a strict attention to the order of the 8th day of 
December last for sending away from cami) as many horses as possible. When hay 
can not be issued and the supplies of grain will admit of it, eight quarts of grain are 
to be issued daily for each horse, and wdien hay is issued, four quarts." {Orders, 
(hneral Ileadqaartera, Morristown. ) 

July 15, 1780. 

Resolved, That there be one Quartermaster-General and one assistant 
quartermaster-general appointed by Congress, and one deputy quarter- 
master for the main Army and one for each separate arm}', to be 
appointed by the Quartermaster-General. 

That the Quartermaster-General appoint one deputy for each State, 
if he shall judge so man}^ to be necessary and the same be approved 
by the board of war, the person appointed to be approved of by the 
supreme executive of the State in which he is to be employed. 

That each deputy, whether appointed for one State or more, shall 
appoint as many assistants as the service may necessarily require and 
the Quartermaster-General shall approve, and a return of such appoint- 
ments shall be immediately made to the board of war by the Quarter- 
master-General. 

That all storekeepers, contractors, clerks, conductors, artificers, and 
laborers, of whatever denomination, who may be found necessary for 
the well conducting the public business be appointed by the deputies 
in their respective districts, and that they employ them in such num- 
bers, for such time, and at such places as the service may require and 
oti such condiilons as shall be most for the benefit of the public; never- 
theless, if they are agreed with or continue in service for any longer 
time than two months, the conditions are to be approved by the 
Quartermaster-General, 

That the duty of a de))uty ([uartermaster for a State shall be to pro- 



168 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF IT. S. ARMY. 

vide the means of transportation in such State for all public property 
agreeabl}" to the orders he may receive from the Commander in Chief, 
the board of war, the Quartermaster-General, or the officer command- 
ing in the State, to provide such storehouses as may be necessary for the 
preservation of the public property, and to appoint suitable storekeep- 
ers, properl}" instructed, to account in the best manner the nature of 
the business will admit, agreeably to such plans as the Quartermaster- 
General may prescribe, for all articles received, whether provided by 
the State in the State or received from another State, taking care 
always to note deficiencies and to reject such as are deficient in qual- 
ity, whether provided by the State or in any other manner within the 
State; but if the parties are dissatistied, the storekeeper and the per- 
son or persons so tendering the goods shall each nominate three of the 
most reputable freeholders in the vicinity of the place w here the goods 
are to be delivered, the storekeeper to appoint one of the three nomi- 
nated by the person or persons offering the goods, and he or they, one of 
those named I)}' the storekeeper, and if the two first can not agree, a 
third is to ])e chosen by lot out of the remaining four as an umpire, the 
ai"l)itrators to be on oath and copies of their award to be delivered in 
writing to the parties, which shall be binding and conclusive; to keep 
proper registers of all persons, teams, pack horses, vessels, and craft 
employed in the dejiartment, noting the manner and conditions on 
which they serve and whether the teams, pack horses, vessels, or craft 
are private or pul)lic property; to execute all orders, either for pur- 
chases or other i)urpos(\'-;, which he may receive from the Connnander 
in Chief, the ))oard of war, the Quartermaster-General, or the com- 
manding officer in the State; to pay all officers in the different parts 
of the State who shall be necessary to execute the business of the 
department and who have been approved as aforesaid; to give such 
instructions with respect to the management of the business as shall 
appear necessary to have it conducted with the greatest economy and 
order, and at the same time with that despatch which the service may 
require; to apply to the assistant quartermaster-general for such sums 
of money as the service may require, and to distrii)ute the same in such 
proportion as Avill best answer the purpose; to visit all the places of 
business of those serving under him as often as his other duties will 
admit, and see whether they execute their duty agreeably to the 
instructions they receive; to inspect their accounts, ])ooks of receipts, 
and issues, and to correct what is amiss; to collect and render his 
accounts of expenditures and returns of public property and persons 
employed in the department every three months, and to make return 
to the assistan.t quartermaster-general of all the issues that have been 
made, mentioning the articles, quantity or number of each, on whose 
application or order issued, and to whom delivered; to see that all 
stores provided in one State to be forwarded to another be carefully 
inspected, that the quantity and quality is agreeable to the order given 
before they are sent forward; to confine all the contracts or bargains 
of the contractors and agents of every denomination within the State 
to which they belong, to prevent one contractor interfering with 
another; to make such provision for wintering or recruiting public 
horses as may be necessary for the convenience and support of the 
Army, and generally to do and perform everj^thing necessary to pro- 
mote the service. 

That the duty of the assistant ([uartermaster-general shall be to reside 
near Congress, to frame plans for keeping accounts in the department, 



THE QUARTERMASTEE's DEPARTMENT. 169 

and to accommodate them to the nature of the business in the best pos- 
sible manner for preserving- regularit}'^; and after the Quartermaster- 
General shall approve thereof, to transmit them to the deputies in the 
several States, as a rule for their stating and keeping their accounts, 
to be by them communicated to all their under agents; to receive from 
the Army and the districts the accounts and vouchers arising therein 
to the first day of Decem])cr, and to lay them before the chamber of 
accounts for settlement by the first day of January; to apply to the 
Board of Treasurj^ for such sums of money as the Quartermaster-General 
shall direct, and distribute the same as the several branches of the 
department may require; to make such remarks and give such direc- 
tions to the deputies in the several States as shall be found necessary 
for saving expense or preserving order in the business; to receive from 
the respective deputies, at the end of every three months, returns of 
all persons employed, how, where, and on what conditions, and returns 
of all public property belonging to the department, and where depos- 
ited, made out in four distinct columns, one containing what has not 
been issued, another what is in use, the third what has been used and 
wants repairing, and the fourth what is unfit for further service and 
still of some value; these returns to be made agreeably to such forms 
as shall be furnished ])y the Quartermaster-General. 

That the returns be made to the assistant quartermaster-general in 
March, June, September, and December, and that the general returns 
be furnished to the Quartermaster-General as soon as possible. 

That the Quartermaster-General appoint one connnissary of forage 
for the main army and so many deputies, forage masters, clerks, and 
laborers Jis the service may require and the Commander in Chief shall 
approve of; a deputy commissary of forage and as many clerks and 
laborers for each separate army as the service may require and the 
connnanding ofiicer of such separate army shall approve of. 

That the duty of a commissary of forage and of a deputy commis- 
sary of forage with a separate arm}' shall 1)e to provide forage and 
pasture in the neighborhood of the camp, by purchase or otherwise, 
as the case may require, and to distribute the same; to correspond with 
the deputy quartermasters in the States in or near which the army 
may l)e and make seasonable requisitions from them for such quanti- 
ties of forage as the service may require, and to receive and issue 
the same to the army in such manner and proportion as is hereafter 
directed. 

That the wages of the people employed in the forage l)ranch, as 
well as the pi'ice of forage purchased and hire of pasture as aforesaid, 
and all other contingent expenses of the department, be directed for 
payment to the Quarterma'^ter-Generars pay office; that the commis- 
sary of forage or his deputy certify the sums due, and that the same 
have been fully examined; that such orders or certificates for payment 
be presented to the auditor of accounts in the Quartermaster General's 
office and pass from him to the pay ofiice; but when from sudden move- 
ments of the army the certificates for pasturage or forage furnished in 
the vicinity thereof, signed by the commissary of forage or his deputy, 
can not be brought for payment to the Quartermaster-Generars pay 
office in camp without great inconvenience to the possessors of the 
same, such certiticates shall be paid l)y the deputy quartermaster of 
the State in which the same shall have been furnished, the sums and 
articles furnished being inserted in words at full length; and to pre- 
vent frauds the commissary of forage, or deputy with a separate army, 



170 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

shall furnish the deputy ((uartermaster of the State in which the army 
may serve with a list of the persons employed in the forage branch, in 
their own handwritinf>-, and the printed form of certificates generally 
made use of l)y them. 

That the commissary of forage, or deputy with a separate army, tix 
upon such places for receiving- and issuing forage to the army as i^hall 
best accommodate the service; and that written instructions be given 
to the keeper of the magazine of forage, how and to whose order to 
issue the same; that proper entries be made in a book, to l)e kept for 
the purpose, of all receipts and issues, and that the orders be numbered 
and tiled to agree with the entries in the book. 

That the forage masters and keepers of the army magazines shall 
make weekly returns to the commissary of forage, or to the deputy 
with a separate army, of all forage received and issued, and of all 
pasturage made use of, and certificates given for the same; and that 
the commissaiy of forage, or deputj^ with a separate army, shall, at 
the end of every four weeks, make returns to the Quartermaster- 
General, or deputy quartermaster with a separate army, of all the 
forage received at the magazines or collected from the countr}^, and 
of the issues of the same; also of all certificates for pasturage or 
forage which have, within that time, ])een gi^'en for settlement at the 
Quartermaster-Generars pay office. 

That forage for the wagon horses 1)e issued on the returns of the 
respective conductors, countersigned by the wagon master or his 
deputy; and for other horses, on the order of the officers entitled to 
receive forage by virtue of these regidations; and if any officer in the 
forage department shall issue forage in any other manner, or in 
larger proportions than is precribed in these regulations, he shall be 
charged with and pay the full value of such extra forage, and be dis- 
missed from the service. 

That there be no deputy commissar}" of forage or forage master 
appointed except for the main ariuy, or a separate army, and that all 
forage which it may hereafter be necessary to issue at any post be issued 
by the deputy quartermaster of the State, his assistants, or storekeepers. 

That the deputy quartermaster of the State shall appoint the maga- 
zines or places at which forage shall be issued, and none shall be issued 
at any other; nor shall any forage be issued at such post to any officer, 
unless he certifies upon honor, on his return, that he is not on furlough 
nor absent from the arm}" on his private l)usiness. 

That a ration of forage shall consist of l-i pounds of hay and 8 quarts 
of oats for a saddle horse, and 10 pounds of hay and 12 quarts of oats, 
or other short forage equivalent, for a draught horse, per da}; that in 
cases where either of the above articles can not lie furnished, a double 
quantity of the other shall be considered as a complete ration. 

And whereas the great number of issuing posts established in these 
States have, by experience, been found very burdensome and expensive: 

Besolved^ That from and after the first day of August next no post, 
without troops there stationed, and in the continental service, shall be 
continued or established in any State at the expense of the United States, 
nor pu])lic provisions or forage issued thereat, but by order of the Board 
of War, the Commander in Chief, or commanding officer of a separate 
army; and such orders shall be given only in cases when, in their 
opinion, the obtaining provision or forage in any other way would be 
impracticable. 

^Vnd whereas it may sometimes happen that there is a necessity to 



THE QUARTEEMASTER's DEPARTMENT. l7l 

detain hired teams, the owners of which were to iind their own forage 
and provisions, bcj'^ond the time for whicli such teams were engaged, 
and who, if their own forage and provisions are expended, must have 
recourse to the public magazines: 

lic'solved^ That such teams, and their conductors and drivers, so 
detained and become destitute of forage and provisions, shall be sup- 
plied out of the public magazines, upon the written order of the officer 
by V, hose order they shall have been detained; and the wagon master 
or his deputy or other person under whose direction such teams be 
employed, before he signs their discharge, shall caused to be endorsed 
thereon, b}" the forage master and commissary, or storekeeper (as the 
case may be), the number of rations of forage and provisions furnished 
to such teams and their conductors and drivers, that the sauie may be 
deducted out of the wages due to the owners of such hired teams; 
that, excepting in the cases above mentioned, no provisions or forage 
be drawn by any person not actually serving with the Army or some 
detachment thcM-eof. 

That there ])e one wagon master with the main Army, and as many 
deputies, clerks, and conductors as the service may require and the 
Commander in Chief shall approve of; that there bo a deputy for each 
separate aimy, with as many assistants, clerks, and conductors as the 
same may require and the commanding officer shall approve of. 

That the wagon master and deputy with a separate army shall keep 
an exact register of all persons and teams employed with the army in 
his department, distinguishing by proper columns the private and 
public property; that he keep exact registers of all pay rolls, noting 
the time and conditions of payment; that in every pay roll the names 
and emplo3mont of every person be inserted at full length; and that 
the roll ))e signed l^y the wagon master or deputy with a separate 
army, and then pass to the auditor of accounts in the office of the 
Quartermaster-General, or deput}' in a separate army, and from him 
to the respective pay office. 

That the wagon master, or deputy in a separate army, give all the 
orders on the horse yard for horses to equip the teams, and orders on 
the store for harness; and every deputy or assistant receiving horses 
or harness upon such order shall be charged with the same in his 
books, and be made to account by his weekly or monthly returns for 
the horses or harness delivered to him. 

That the wagon master shall make monthly returns to the Quarter- 
master-General, or oftener, if required, of all persons, teams, and 
horses emploj'ed in his department, noting where and with whom 
serving, adding a column of casualties in which to insert the deaths, 
stolen or strayed horses, and also the harness that may be lost, and 
generally to make such regulations for the government of the wagoners 
as shall be l)est calculated to preserve public property, and to give 
them as a standing order to all the wagon luastei's, the Quartermaster- 
General approving thereof; that the like duties be performed by the 
deputy wagon master of a s(>parate army. 

That the quartermaster have libert}-, with the approbation of the 
Commander in Chief, or conmiander of a separate arm}^ to take such 
and so many officers from the line of the Army to serve in his depart- 
ment as he may find necessary, and as are willing to engage in the 
business. 

That the Quartermaster-General establish a horse yard with the 
army for the purpose of receiving and issuing all public horses; and 



172 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF IT. S. ARMY. 

that the person appointed deliver none from the yard but by the 
order of the Commander in Chief, the Quartermastor-Creneral, or his 
deputy, or the wagon master. 

The same regulations to take place with a separate army. 

That an exact register l)e kept of the receipt and deliyery of all 
horses, from whom received, to whom delivered, and by whose order; 
and also of all horses that may die, be stolen, or stray from the yard, 
or that are ordered to be sold ])y the Quartermaster-General as unfit 
for further service; and that returns of all transactions of the yard be 
made to the Quartermaster-Generars office monthly, and as much 
oftener as the Quartermaster-General may direct. 

Whereas it is necessary that every army should be limited in the 
article of baggage (this regulation being essential, as well as to save 
expense as to prevent the army from being embarrassed in its opera- 
tions), and that every officer should ha^'e only such a quantity of bag- 
gage as is essential to his comfort and appearance: 

jRei<()Ived,, That the following pro])ortion of wagons and bathorses 
be allowed to the ditlerent ranks of officers, and no more, unless it be 
by order of the Commander in Chief, or commanding officer of a sepa- 
rate army, each of whom to be allowed for themselves so man}' baggage 
wagons and bathorses as thev may think necessary, to wit: 



M ajor-gfueral and family 

Brigadier-general and family 

Colonel, lieuteiuint-eolouel,and major , 

Cai>tains anil siiljalterns (if a regiment, for their baggage 

Surgeon, jiayuuister, adjutant, and quartermaster (regi- 
mental statY) 

Brigaiie quartermaster 

For the tents of a regiment, for every 75 men (bttt this to be 
varied aeoording to the weight of the tents and state of the 

d; 



Quartermaster-general, for his baggage according to his rank, 
for his books, papers, etc., as many as he shall find neces- 



sary. 



Covered 
4-horse 
wagon. 



Open 
4-horse 
wagon. 



2-hor.se 
wagon. 



Bat- 
horses. 



Deputy quartermaster, with the main army, or with a sepa- 
rate army, for his books, papers, etc., as many as they may 
demand ." 

Commissary of forage with the main army 

Deputy connnissary of forage with a separate army 

Wagnn master and clerks 

Deputy wagon m;isters with the main army, each 

Deputy wagon master with a separate array, clerks and as- 
sistants 

Inspector-general, for his baggage according to his rank, and 
for his papers, etc., according as the service may require or 
('(innnander in Chief may direct , 

Stibinspoctor 

Brigade inspector 

Adjutant-general and assistants , 

Deputy adjutant-general with a separate army 

Judge-advocate 

Commissary of prisoners , 

Deputy judge-advocate with a separate army 

Deputy commissary of prisoners with a separate army 

Provost-marshal with his prisoners and guards 

A commissary and his deputy of purchases or issues 

A deputy coriimissary with a separate army 

Field commissary of military stores and his deputy with the 
main army .■ 

Deputy commissary of military stores with a separate army. . 

Auditors of the main army, for their baggage, books, papers, 
etc 



Auditors for a separate army 

Deputy paymaster, either with the main army or with asepa- 

rate army 

Field postmaster 

Express rider 



or 2 

"i 

or 2 



or 2 
or 2 
or 2 
or 2 



or 2 
or 2 



or 2 
or 2 



THE quartermaster's DEPARTMENT. l73 

Provided^ That if the number of wagons, stated as above, should 
prove insufficient, the (Quartermaster-General may occasionally furnish 
such additional carriao-e as the Commander in Chief, or commanding 
officer of a separate army, or the Board of War may direct. 

Whereas the business of de]juty quartermasters, serving in the dif- 
ferent States, may vary greatly from one another; and whereas that 
allowance which would be ample in some States woidd l)e inadequate 
in others: 

Resolved^ That the Quartermaster-General be authorized to fix the 
pay of each deputy to conduct the business of his department in the 
States according to the duties they have to perform, and the expenses 
they will be at in executing the same, so that the pay of no deputy 
exceed one hundred and thirty-four dollars per month, without provi 
sion or forage, always having regard to the merit and service of the 
person appointed, and ^vhich shall be approved by the Board of War. 

That the pay of the assistant deputy quartermasters be settled by 
the deputy quartermaster under whom they respectively serve, accord- 
ing to the duties they have to perform, and the expense they will be 
at in executing the same, so as the pay of no assistant deputy quarter- 
master exceed seventy-five dollars per month, without provisions or 
forage, always having regard to the merit and services of the person 
ai^pointed, and which shall be approved of by the Quartermaster- 
General. 

That the pay of the officers in the Quartermaster-GeneraPs Depart- 
ment, who are attached to the main or a separate army and move 
with it, be as follows: 

Quartermaster-General, in addition to his pay as an officer in the 
line, at the rate of one hundred and sixty-six dollars per month. 

Assistant quartermaster-general, who is to reside near Congress, at 
the rate of one hundred and sixty-six dollars per month. 

Deputj' quartermaster, thirty-fi\ e dollars per month, in addition to 
his pay in the line. 

lirigade quartermaster, twenty dollars per month, in addition to his 
pay in the line. 

Commissary of forage, seventy-five dollars per month, and two 
rations of provisions per da3\ 

Deputy commissary of forage, forty dollars per month, and one 
ration of provisions per day. 

Forage master, in addition to his pa}^ in the lin(> of the Arni}^, ten 
dollars per month. 

Wagon master, sixty dollars per month and two rations of provi- 
sions per day. 

Deputy wagon master, forty -fi^'e dollars per month and one ration 
of provisions per day. 

Assistant wagon master in a separate army, fort}' dollars per month 
ajid one ration of provisions per day. 

Conductor of wagons, when not of the line of the Army, thirty-five 
dollars per month and one ration of provisions per day; when of the 
line of the Army, twelve dollars per month in addition to his pay in 
the line. 

That the foregoing salaries be paid in specie or other money equiva- 
lent. 

Whereas, in ordcM- to ])revent the unnecessary consumption of for- 
age, it is requisite to determine what officers shall be supplied with 



174 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

forage at the public expense and to lix the quantit}^ that shall be fur- 
nished to each: 

Memlved^ That in addition to the forage allowed for the wagon and 
bat horses by these regulations there be issued to the Commander in 
Chief and to the commanding officer of a separate army and to those 
of their suite as many rations as the service shall require. 

To a major-general and family, seven; brigadier-general and family, 
six; colonel of infantry or artiller}^, two; lieutenant-colonel, two; 
major, two; chaplain, one; surgeon, one; paymaster, one; adjutant, 
one; quartermaster, one; brigade quartermaster, one; captain of engi- 
neers, one; Quartermaster-General, as the service may require; deputy 
quartermaster with the Arm}', one; commissary of forage, two; deputy 
commissary of forage, one; wagon master and clerks, three; deput}^ 
wagon master, one; deputy wagon master with a separate army, two; 
assistant wagon master with a separate army, one; Inspector-General, 
agreeable to his rank; subinspector, in addition to what he draws in 
the line, one; Adjutant-General and his family, including what he may 
draw in the line, seven; deputy adjutant-general for a separate army, 
three, including what he may draw in the line; commissary of pris- 
oners, two; deputy commissary of prisoners with a separate army, 
two; deputy serving with the main army, one; judge-advocate, two; 
provost-martial, one; commissary-general of purchases, four; conmiis- 
sary-general of issues, two; brigade commissar}^ one; field commissar}^ 
of military stores, two; deputy field commissary of military stores, 
one; deputy pa3"master, one; auditors for the Arm}', each one. 

That the officers of cavalry be allowed to draw forage or pay for the 
same, under the like regulations as other officers, for the following 
number of horses, provided they actually keep the same: A colonel, 
three; lieutenant-colonel, two; major, two; captain, two; lieutenant, 
one; cornet, one; paymaster, quartermaster, and adjutant, exclusive 
of allowances as officers in the line, each one; surgeon, one. 
* * -x- 

That the Quartermaster-General take such measures for providing 
camp equipage and make such regulations for distributing the same as 
he shall find necessary and the Commander in Chief or the Board of 
War shall approve; and that he also take measures for engaging such 
artificers as the service from time to time may require, in addition to 
the regimental artificers, and as shall be ap[)roved by the Commander 
in Chief; and that he generall}' make such arrangements as shall be 
necessary to manage the business of tlie Quartermaster's Depaiiment, 
either with the main army, a separate army, or detachment. 

That the Quartermaster-General or deputy with a separate army 
shall furnish suc'h horses for special purposes and on particular appli- 
cations as he shall think the good of the service may require, and 
whenever any doubt arises that the matter be referred to the Com- 
mander in Chief or the conmianding officer of a separate arm}' for 
their instructions. 

That no purchases of horses or any other articles with the main array 
or in any of the States for the use of the Army in the Quartermaster- 
GeneraFs Department be made unless l)y order of the Quartermaster- 
General or by a deputy quartermaster with a separate army or garrison. 

That the Quartermaster-General make returns to the Commander 
in Chief and Board of War, as soon as possible after they are deliv- 
ered in to him by the assistant quartermaster-general, of all officers 
and other persons employed and stores belonging to the department. 



THE quartermaster's DEPARTMENT. l75 

and th:it a deputy sewing- with a separate army or with a garrison 
make returns quarterly in the months aforementioned, agreeably to 
the directions given to a deputy of a State, which the Quartermaster- 
General shall inckide in his general return. 

That all officers in the Quartermaster-GeneraFs Department, of 
w^hatever denomination, shall take the oatlis of allegiance and oath 
of office prescribed b}^ Congress before they enter on business. 

That, with the returns before directed to be made of the name and 
station of each person to be appointed in the Quartermaster's Depart- 
ment, there be also at the same time certificates returned therewith 
of their having respectively taken the oaths and ({ualifications afore- 
mentioned. 

That in settling the accounts of officers in the Quartermaster's 
Department to be appointed by this act of Congr(\ss no pay or allow- 
ance whatever be granted to any person employed in that department 
whose name and employment, together with a certificate of liis taking 
the aforesaicl oaths, shall not be duly returned in the manner above 
directed. 

That the Board of War shall have power to suspend and dismiss all 
supernumerary officers that may be employed in the Quartermaster- 
General's Department. 

Resolved^ That Major-General Greene be continued in the office of 
Quartermaster-General; that he be, and he is hereby, directed to make 
the appointments and arrangements in the Quartermaster's^ Depart- 
ment, agreeably to the foregoing resolutions, as soon as possible. 

Provided^ That nothing contained in the foregoing resolutions shall 
be construed to annul the resolution of the Othday of July, 1770, 
authorizing the executive authorit}^ of the respective States to correct 
alxises in the staff departments, or to vacate any appointment made 
or that may be made by Major-General Gates for the southern army, 
agreeably to the resolution of the 14th day of June last. 

Eesolved, That it l)e, and it is hereby, recommended to the legisla- 
tures of the several States in which the Army may serve to make 
provision for furnishing the horses of the Army, or detachments 
thereof, with a sufficient supply of pasturage, and with such hay or 
forage as can be spared from the country in the vicinity of the Army 
or detachment thereof, the sauie to be settled and paid for by the 
Quartermaster-General with the Army or by the deputy in the State. 

July 20, 1780. 

Eesolved, That Henry Hollings worth,' deputy quartermaster- 
general, be, and hereby is, suspended, and that some other person be 
appointed to transact the business of that department. 

July U, I'^SO. 

Resolved, . . . That the Quartermaster-General be directed 
immediately to appoint such suitable person as shall be approved by 

1 Deputy Quartermaster-Cieneral H. Hollingyworth was suspended, one of the 
vouchers 'to his accounts havin.ij; a, forged signature, and August 8 Congress directed 
the Board of Treasury to incjuiiv into the matter and report to Congress. On the 
report of the Iward, Congress resolved that the Board of Treasury refer the case to 
the executive of the State of Marvland and, on the report of one of the judges of the 
general court of that State, resolved, Novendjer 21, 1782, that the complaint be 
dismissed. 



176 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

the supreme executive authority of the State of New Jersey to act as 
deputy quartermaster in the said State, agreeably to the late regula- 
tion of the Quartermaster's Department, in order that the measures 
therein provided for collecting forage and transporting provisions and 
other pul)lic stores may be taken as soon as possible. 

That, until such deputy is so appointed and approved, Moore Fur- 
man [deputy quartermaster] be authorized to receive from the State 
commissaries such quantity of forage, out of the supplies purchased 
for the United States, as may be necessary to enal)le him to forward 
the transportation of pu))lic stores; and that Governor Livingston be 
requested to give orders to the State conunissaries to deliver the same 
accordingly, if such order shall be necessary. 

July 25, 1780. 

Congress proceeded to the election of an assistant quartermaster- 
general, to reside near Congress, and, the l)allots being taken, 

Charles Pettit, esq., was elected, having been previously nominated 
by Mr. Armstrong. 

August 5, 1780. 

Resohied., That the absolute refusal of Major-General Greene, at this 
important crisis, to act under the new arrangement of the Quarter- 
master-General's Department has made it necessary that the office of 
Quartermaster-General be immediately filled. 

* * * 

Resolved, 'unanimously^ That Congress proceed to the election of a 
Quartermaster-General . 

Congress accordingly proceeded, and, the ballots being taken 
Mr. Timothy Pickering was elected. 

* * * 

Resolved, That Timothy Pickering, esq., having been appointed 
Quartermaster-General upon an extraordinary emergency, be con- 
tinued as a member of the Board of War, but that the exercise of all 
his powers at the said board, and his pay as a member thereof, be sus- 
pended during such time as he shall contiiuio Quartermaster-General. 

That w hile he holds the oflEice of Quartermaster-General he have the 
rank of colonel, and the pay and rations of ta brigadier-general, over 
and above the pay allowed the Quartermaster-General in the late 
arrangement of the Quartermaster's Department. 

August 15, 1780. 

Resolved, That the assistant quartermaster-general be jillowed one 
or more clerks, as the nature of the service may require and the 
Board of War shall approve. 

August 19, 1780. 

Resolved, That Major-Gen. Greene, late (luartermaster-general, be, 
and hereby is, directed to furnish Col. Pickering, quartermaster- 
general, with returns of all buildings, vessels and craft, horses, wagons, 
stores and articles, of what kind soever, in possession or under the 



THE QUARTEEMASTER's DEPARTMENT. 177 

direction of any officers or persons employed under him in his late 
department, and which are occupied on account of or belong- to the 
United States; and also with full information in writing of all public 
contracts and purchases by them made of which the terms have not 
been fully executed, or the services or articles contracted for or pur- 
chased have not been completely rendered or delivered; 

That in the meantime he direct all officers and others employed 
under him, on the demand of any deputy or storekeeper appointed 
under the plan for regulatino- the quartermaster-general's department, 
deliver to such deputy or storekeeper, on their producing- their 
appointments, respectively, and the orders of the quartermaster- 
g-eneral to receive them, all tlie articles before enumerated and any 
others in their possession or under their direction which are occupied 
on account of or belong to the United States, together with the written 
evidences of the contracts and purchases aforesaid which yet remain 
unexecuted. 

uiugmt 2"2, 1780. 

Whereas it is of the utmost importance effectually to prevent the 
destruction, waste, embi^zzlement, and misapplication of the public 
stores . . . , upon which the existence of the armies of these 
United States may depend, and no adequate provision hath been made 
for the just punishment of delinquents in the departments of the 
Quartermaster-General, . . . ; therefore, 

Resolved., That every person in any of the said departments intrusted 
with the care of provisions or military or hospital stores, or other 
property of these United States, who shall be convicted at a general 
court-martial of having sold without a proper order for that purpose, 
embezzled, or wilfully misapplied, damaged, or spoiled any of the 
provisions, horses, forage, arms, clothing, ammunition, or other mili- 
tary or hospital stores, or property belonging to the United States of 
America, shall suffer death or such other punishment as shall be 
directed by a general court-martial, according to the nature and degree 
of the offense, at the discretion of such court; and any person in any 
of the said departments intrusted as aforesaid, who shall be convicted 
at a general court-martial of having, through neglect, suffered any of 
the articles aforesaid to be wasted, spoiled, or damaged, shall suffer 
such punishment as the 'said court shall, in their discretion, direct, 
according to the degree of the offense. 

August 23, 1780. 

Resolved., That no certificates issued in the Quartermaster's . . . 
Department after the 15th day of September next afford any claim upon 
the I'nited States unless issued under the following regulations: 

1st. That they be for services performed or articles purchased within 
their respective departments. 

2dly. The Quartermaster-General . . . shall themselves sign all 
such c(M-tificates as are issued in their respective departments. 

3dly. All such certificates shall be given for specie or other current 
money equivalent. 

4thly. All contracts or purchases made for which certificates shall 
be given shall be made for specie value. 
S. Doc. 229 12 



178 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

5t\i\y. The articles so purchased shall be enumerated in such certiti- 
cates, with the rates and prices thereof; and the prices shall ho reason- 
able when the present circumstances of our affairs are compared with 
the cost of articles of like quality or services performed in the year 
1775, or when compared with the allowance by Congress to the United 
States, as expressed in their resolution of the 25th of February last. 

jResolved, That certilicates issued under and agreeable to the fore- 
going regulations shall l)ear an interest of six per cent per antuuii from 
the time stipulated for payment until paid. 

Resolved, That the Quartermaster-General . . . be. and hereby 
are, strictly enjoined to make monthly returns of their purchases and 
proceedings to the Board of War and make monthly returns, to wit, on 
the last day of every month to the Board of Treasury of all certiticates 
so issued as aforesaid. 

Aug%iM 26, 17S0. 

Resolmd., That, all and singular, the creditors of these United States 
for supplies furnished the Army or the transportation thereof shall be 
entitled to receive the just value of the sums due them respectively in 
the bills of credit emitted pursuant to the act of the 18th of March 
last, the value of the sums due to be ascertained according to the cur- 
rent value of continental bills of credit compared with specie at the 
time the money became due at the place where the supplies were fur- 
nished; provided the same do not exceed the prices fixed for such sup- 
plies by the act of the 25th of February last or a proportionate value 
for services done and articles furnished not mentioned in the said act; 
but if the nominal sum in continental currency contracted for when 
reduced to specie value as aforesaid shall exceed the lixed prices afore- 
said, the creditor shall be entitled to receive the amount of the sup- 
plies furnished or services done at the said fixed or proportionate 
prices in the new bills aforesaid or the nominal sum contracted for in 
continental bills of credit, and no more, at his election. 

That the accounts lieing duly examined and adjusted by the ri^le 
aforesaid by commissioners that may l)e appointed agreeably to the 
resolution of the 12th of June last to settle the accounts of officers of 
the staff' departments in the several States, or by the officer who made 
the contract, or by whom the payment is to l^e made, the same shall 
be paid or a certfficate given for the sum justly due, certifying that 
the same has been duly examined and adjusted agreeably to the direc- 
tions aforesaid, and if paid in the new bills the interest on the said 
bills shall be computed to the date of such certificate. 

That all debts due to the United States for monies received for their 
use or otherwise within an}^ of these States shall be paid according to 
the just value of the money when it was received or became due, to 
be ascertained as aforesaid. 

August 28, 1780. 

Resolved, That the Quartermaster-General be, and hereby is, author- 
ized and directed to make sale of all buildings and other property 
belonging to the United States under his care which, in his opinion, 
are not wanted for public use, and render an account of such sales to 
the Board of Treasury, that he may be charged with the money arising 
thereon. 



THE QUARTERMASTEE's DEPARTMENT. l79 

Sfiptemher 1, i7<S0.— Jacob Hiltzheinier was allowed |40 per montli from February 
If), 1780, for his servii'e in jiroviding for the horses under his care, and Conijress 
directed that what wan then, or might hereafter become, due to Hiltzheimer for keep- 
ing the horses be paid to him, and that he apply the same for defraying the expenses 
of keeping the said horses. [As the resolution ended by stating "any former resolu- 
tion to the contrary notwithstanding," it is assumed that Congress meant to relieve 
the commissary-general of forage from supplying him with the necessary forage.] 

SejJtetnhcr 6', 1780. 

Rt'xolred, That magazines of . . . forage for 15,000 men for 
6 months be inmiediately provided and laid up for the Southern Army. 

■X- -X- -X- 

JResolved^ That North Carolina furnish magazines of forage . 
to the utmost of their al)ilit3^, to be stored at such convenient places as 
to the commanding officer in the Southern Department shall appear 
most eligible. 

Septem])er 25, 1780. 

Resolved., . . . The Quartermaster-General shall furnish all 
necessary books, j)aper, etc., for the [inspecting and mustering] 
department. 

Septemler 30, 1780. 

Resolved, . . . That the Quartermaster-General furnish the 
Hospital Department, from time to time, as occasion may require, with 
such a numl)er of horses and wagons as may be necessary for removing 
the sick and wounded and for transporting the hospital stores; but 
that no other horses than those belonging to the officers of the depart- 
ment, for w hich forage may be herein allowed, be kept separately and 
at the expense of the department. 

September 30, 17S0. — "As the direction of the waggon department is a charge of 
great importance (in foreign armies generally intrusted to a field officer of the line), 
and as it is thought the service will be benefitted by a similar practice in our Army, 
Major Cogswell, of the First Massachusetts Regiment, is appointed waggon master 
to the main Army." 

"Henry Emanuel Lutterloh, esq., is also appointed commissary of forage." 
"The Commander in Chief takes this occasion to thank Major-General Greene for 
the al)Ie and satisfactory manner in which he discharged the duties of the Quarter- 
master-General's Department during his continuance in office, and to express his 
apf)robation of his conduct and orders in the absence of the general." {Orders, 
(leneml Headquarters, Orangctovm. ) 

October 16, 1780. 

II appearing that Lieutenant-Colonel Ternant had impressed from 
him two good riding horses during the siege of Charleston, b}^ order 
of the State of South Carolina: 

Ordered, That the Quartermaster-General furnish Lieutenant-Col- 
onel Ternant with two good horses, reporting their value to the Treas- 
ury Board, who are hereby directed to make the said State accountable, 

October M, 1780. 

Ordered, That John Bradford, continental agent at Boston, deliver 
to the Quartermaster-General or his order all the duck in his hands 
suital)le for tents, the property of the United States, to be made up 
into tents for the Armv. • • . 



180 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENEEAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Novemhei- 10, 1780. 

Resolved, . . . That the Quarternia.stei'-Gencral take immediate 
measure.s for reiiioving- all horses, the property of the Unit(^d States, 
which, in the opinion of the Commander in Chief, can l)e spared from 
the Army, into some one or more of the said States where he can pro- 
vide the said horses with forage on reasonable terms. 

That if it l)e deemed })refera))le by the C^ommander in Chief that a 
proportion of the public horses should ])e disposed of for draft oxen, 
to be provided for the ensuing campaign, he be authorized to direct 
the Quartermaster-General to eli'ect the same in such manner as may 
be most beneticial to the public service. 

That the Quartermaster-General immediately apjily to the executive 
authority of the States nearest the quarters of the main army to fur- 
nish such quantities of forage as may l)e in their power, to enable him 
to la}^ up proper magazines for the use of the Army; and that he also 
apply to the more distant States to furnish the intermediate posts with 
forage for the purpose of transporting provisions and stores to the 
Army, and provide forage for the horses removed from the Army. 

Deceviher 28, 1780. 

Resolved, That Congress approve the appointment made l)y Major- 
General Greene of Lieutenant-Colonel Carrington to be deputy (piar- 
termaster-general for the Southern Army. 

January 9, 17S1. — "All the tents of the Army are to be delivered to the (Quarter- 
master-General, who will have them washed, cleaned, and repaired. Such as are 
irreparable, or as many of them as will answer the purpose, he is to reserve, to make 
cases for the camp kettles, that they may not grease and injure the soldiers' cloaths, 
as they will next campaign he obliged to carry their own kettles." {Orders, General 
Headquarters [ho place cjiven]. ) 

Jmiiuvrii 'lis, 1781. 

Resolved, . . . That the Quartermaster-General be directed to 
procure a sufficient number of horses to remount such of the cavalry 
as are destitute of horses, agreeable to the directions to be given by 
the Commander in Chief for the next campaign. 

Fdn'iKit'ij '.20, 1781. 

Resolved, . . . That the deputy (juartermaster in Pennsylvania 
be, and he is hereby, directed to put the wagons belonging to the Penn- 
sylvania line in order for service immediately. 

-X- -:;■ * 

Resolved, That 400 wagons be procured and furnished for the South- 
ern arm}'. 

* -X- -X- 

Rt'solred, That the Board of War be, and here])y are, directed to fur- 
nish the Southern Army with . . . SOO tents. 

April 19, 1781. 

Whereas dili'erences have arisen between quartermasters . . . 
and persons claiming to be creditors of the United States, for articles 
fui'iiished by or taken from them and for services performed by them, 
for which no vouchers have been given or for which the voucher may 



THE QUARTERMASTEK's DEPARTMENT. 181 

be lost, or having vouchers it is doubtful whether the account can be 
adjusted in either of the departments of the Quartermaster-General; 
. . . to remedy which, 

Hesolvcd, That every such claim as aforesaid which shall have been 
submitted to the inspection of the continental commissioners for audit- 
ing- and adjusting accounts, and b}^ them certified, shall, by the quarter- 
master . . . be allowed and may be paid, or certificates given for 
the same, in like manner as is directed in the act of Congress of 26th 
August, 1780. 

April n, 1781. 

Besol/ved., That the superintendent of finance be, and he is hereby, 
authorized to remove from office or employment, for incapacity, neg- 
ligence, dishonesty, or other misbehavior, such persons, not immedi- 
ately appointed l)y the United States in Congress assembled, as are or 
may be officially entrusted with and immediately employed in the 
expenditure of the pul)lic supplies, stores, and other property ; . . . 
and such of the said persons as are or, ma}' l)e in his judgment unnec- 
essary, reporting to such authority, board, minister, or office to whom 
it may l)elong to supply the vacancy the respective names of the per- 
sons so removed. 

That he be authorized to suspend from office or employment, for 
similar causes, persons officially emplo3'ed and entrvisted as aforesaid, 
immediately appointed by the United States in Congress assembled, 
reporting forthwith their names and the reason for suspension: 

Provided^ That in all cases where anj^ of the persons aforesaid are 
or may be amena1)le to the law martial, the superintendent be, and he 
is hereby, authorized and directed — if he shall deem it most expedient 
for the public service — to put them in arrest l)v order in writing and 
to apply to the officer whose duty it may be to order a court-martial; 
and such officer is hereby directed to order proceedings on the arrest 
accordingl}'. 

That in every case of suspension all pay and emoluments cease from 
the date thereof, unless the persons suspended l)e, upon trial, acquitted 
and restored; and the superintendent shall have power to supply the 
place when it may be necessary by a temporary appointment, to con- 
tinue until the person suspended be restored or dismissed. 

That the aforesaid powers shall not be construed to interfere with 
the rank, commission, or military duty of any officer in the line of the 
Army, or those who may be duly entrusted with money for secret 
service l)y Congress, or the Commander in Chief of the Army, or the 
commancling officer of a separate department. 

That the powers aforesaid be exercised during the pleasure of Con- 
gress, but not to extend be^'ond the duration of the war. 

April 26, 1781. 

Ii,'s()Ir,'d, That the Quart(n-master-(leneral be, and he is hereby, 
autliorized to appoint Colonel Champion, of Newport, a barrack master 
to the French army, and to annex to tliat office a salary not exceeding 
the })ay of an assistant deputy quartermaster. 

Ajn'il 27, 1781. 

Ordered, That John Bradford, continental ag-nt at Boston, deliver 
to the Quartermaster-General, or his order, all the duck in his bands 
belonging to the United Stat(\s, proper for tents. 



182 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OP U. S. ARMY. 

May 28, 1781. 

Ordered, That all the duck of whatever description belonging to the 
United States, in the hands of the continental agent at Boston, be 
delivered to the Quartermaster-General, or his order; that so much 
thereof as is suitable may be made up into tents, and the residue, 
except so much as is necessary for other uses in the Quartermaster- 
General's Department be exchanged for light duck or other materials 
lit for tents, and the materials produced by such exchange be imme- 
diately made up into tents for the use of the Army. 

June 18, 1781. 

Resolved, . . . That the Commander in Chief ana the com- 
manding general in a separate department, respectiveh% be, and hereby 
are, authorized to direct what clothing shall, from time to time, be 
dealt out to the . . . wagoners, having regard to the nature of 
their service and the terms of their contract, and time for which they 

are engaged: 

* * * 

That the Quartermaster-General, and his deputies in the several 
States, shall, on the requisitions of the clothier-general, furnish the 
means of transportation of all articles of clothing from the places 
where imported, received, or purchased to the places of deposit; and 
a careful wagon master or conductor, to be appointed Ijy the Quarter- 
master-General or some of his deputies, shall proceed with the clothing, 
who shall be answerable for all deiiciencies on the road, unless they 
shall be able to show that the same happened by unavoidable accidents 
and not through their misconduct or want of attention. 

That in case of injuries or deiiciencies happening in the transporta- 
tion of clothing the clothier stationed at the magazine or place of deposit 
shall represent the matter to the nearest commanding officer of the 
troops of the United States, that the wagon master or conductor having 
had charge of the clothing so damaged or clehcient may be tried by a 
court-martial and, if found guilty, compelled to restore the goods lost, 
or their value, or make satisfaction for damages accrued through his 
negligence or mismanagement, or be punished according to the nature 
of the oifense by judgment of the court-martial. 

* * * 

That the Quartermaster-General or his deputy, on the application of 
the clothier-general or either of his deputies, furnish wagons for trans- 
porting raw or unmanufactured hides to such places as they shall direct. 

Jmie 20, 1781. 

Eesolved, That Charles Pettit, assistant quartermaster-general, be 
permitted to resign that office, agreeably to his request. 

That the office of assistant quartermaster-general be abolished; and 
that the duties of the said office l)e performed by the Quartermaster- 
General and his deputies under his direction. 

June 30, 1781. — "Major Piatt having resigned the office of Deputy Quartermaster 
to the main Army, Lt. Col. Dearborue is appointed in his room." {Orders, General 
ITt'ddquurters [iio place givenl.) 

./nil/ 9, 17S1. — "Captain Hasfield White, of the Fifth Massaeliusetts Regiment, is 
appointed deputy wagon master." ( Onbis, (leucral Headquarters., near Dohhs Ferry.) 



THE quaktermaster's det^artment. 183 

Jidy 10, 1781. 

Resolved, That the superintendent of finance be, and he is hereby, 
authorized, either by himself or such person or persons as he shall, 
from time to time, appoint for the purpose, to procure or contract all 
necessary supplies for use of the Arni}^ or armies of the United 
States, . . . and also the transportation thereof. 

July 9.1^, 1781. 

Resolved, That John Storey })e entitled to the same pay and rations 
for his services from the time of General Greene's resignation as 
Quartermaster-General until the 21st of April last which he received 
or was entitled to receive when acting immediately under the said 
Quartermaster-General. 

That the said John Storey immediately repair to camp and there 
carefully transact and settle the business belonging to the late 
Quartermaster-General's Department until the furtlier order of Con- 
gress; and for this service he shall be allowed, from the 21st of April 
last, the pay and rations of a captain in the line of the Army. 

September ^0, 1781. — "Capt.-Lieut. Miles is appointed brigade quartermaster to the 
artillery in the room of Capt.-Lieut. Howe, deceased." {Orders, General Headquar- 
ters, W'iUiainsburgh.) 

Octoher 3^8, 1781. 

Resolved, That letters to and from the Quartermaster-General be 
carried free of postage. 

January 1, 1182. — "No officer except such as command corps in this city are in 
future to draw wood from the quartermaster, but at the end of every month each 
officer shall be paid for the wood he is allowed at the average price paid by the quar- 
termaster during that month." {Orders, Geaeral Headquarters, Pldladelphia.) 

January 10, 178'2. 

Resolved, . . . The Inspector-General, or inspector of a sepa- 
rate" army, shall be authorized to call on the Quartermaster-General, 
. . . or their deputies for returns of the articles which have been 
issued from and returned to their several departments by each 
corps. . . . 

Ifarch U, 1782. 

Resolved, That so much of the resolution of the 30th of October, 
1780, as continues to Major-General Greene the power of which had 
been given to Major-General Gates, by a resolution of the llth of 
June, in the same year, of appointing the officers in the Quartermas- 
ter-General's Department for the Southern Army, be repealed. 

The resolution of the 15th of July, 1780, providing for the appoint- 
ment of one deputy quartermaster only for a separate army, and the 
southern services requiring an additional one: 

Resolved, That the Quartermaster-General be, and he is hereby, 
authorized to appoint, out of the line of the Army, an additional 
deputy quarterniilster for the Southern Army, who shall be subordinate 
to and under the connnand of the other deputy (juartermaster for the 



184 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

said army, and whose pay shall be the same with that allowed to the 
deput}^ quartermaster bj^ the aforesaid resolutions of the 15th of July, 
1780. 

ReHolved^ That the principal deputy quartermaster to the Southern 
Army be allowed, during actual service, 75 dollars per month and four 
rations per day, in addition to his pay and subsistence as an oflScer in 
the line, until the further order of Congress. 

Bemlced, That the officer who has conducted the quartermaster- 
general's department in the Southern Army since Gen. Greene has had 
the command thereof be allowed for his past services the same emolu- 
ments with those granted to the principal deputy quartermaster in the 
preceding resolution. 

* * * 

And Avhereas the business of the Quartermaster-General ])eing con- 
siderabl}^ lessened by the present mode of supplying the Army in gen- 
eral by contract, and it being at all times proper to estal)lish the paj^ 
and emoluments of officers, as near as possible, proportioned to their 
ranks and services: 

Resolved^ That for the aljove reasons the pay and allowance of the 
Quartermaster-General be reduced from 3,492 dollars per annum, and 
rations and all other allowances, estimated at 1,904 dollars per annum, 
to the same pay and allowance in future of a major-general. 

March m, 1782. 

Resol/ved^ That the quartermaster with the Southern Army be, and 
he is herebv, empowered to raise, on the best terms possible, a corps 
of pioneers, consisting of 30 privat<\^, under such officers now in pub- 
lic pay as he may think proper to appoint, to l)e governed by the 
Articles of AVar, and to continue on the establishment one year, unless 
the service will admit of their being sooner discharged. 

March 27, 1782. 

Ordered., That the Secretary at War make returns to Congress of 
the officers employed in the Quartermaster's Department. 

April lt\ 1782. 

Bei<olved., . . . That the Secretar}^ at AVar direct the building 
and management of . . . magazines, barracks, and other public 
))uildings, the necessity of which he is, from time to time, to report, 
and the same is to be approved of by Congress. 

That the Secretary at War be empowered . . . to provide 
guards for the safe convey^ance of money and any articles necessary 
for the use of the Army whenever it shall appear to him to be necessary. 

A^n'il 22^ 1782. 

BeKolved., That from and after the tirst day of May next all resolves 
of Congress heretofore passed relative to rations, subsistence, or allow- 
ances to officers over and above their pay and what, they are entitled 
to from the Quartermaster's DepartuKMit . . . be, and they are 
hereby, repealed; that from and after the tii'st day of May next each 



THE quartermaster's DEPARTMENT. 185 

officer shall be entitled to draw daily the number of rations . . . 
affixed to their several ranks, viz: 

Quartermaster-General, 4 rations per day, 25|f dollars per month. 

Deputy quartermaster with the Southern Army, 2 rations per day, 
12f U^ dollars per month. 

Commissary of forage, li ration.s per day, 11 dollars per month. 

Subaltern, 1 ration per day, 3^ f dollars per month. 

Axyril m, 1782. 

Jiesohjed, . . . That the supernumerary junior lieutenants, 
beyond the number of ten in each regiment of infantry, be reduced; 
. . . except such of them as shall accept of appointments in the 
staff departments, with the approbation of the heads of the respective 
departments, in which case they shall severally retain their respec- 
tive ranks in the Army, and he entitled to tlie full pay and subsistence 
belonging- to their rankin the line, as a compensation fortheir respective 
services in the staff, without any other allowance whatsoever. . . . 

Mmj 7, 1782. 

Resolved., That the superintendent of finance lie, and hereby is, 
authorized to appoint an inspector for the Main and Southern Army, 
to take care that the contracts for supplying rations be duly executed 
by the contractors; that the said inspectors shall also be, and they are 
hereby, fully empowered and directed to attend to the expenditures of 
public property in the several departments of the Army, and report 
any fraud, neglect of duty, or other misconduct by which the public 
property is wasted, or expense unnecessarily accumulated, so that the 
party chai'ged therewith may be tried by court-martial on such charges 
exhibited against him by either of the said inspectors; and that neither 
the said inspectors nor the said contractors, or their property, be liable 
to arrest or subject to martial law, except by the express order of the 
Commander in Chief, or commander of the army to which the inspect- 
ors respectively shall be appointed, any resolution or act of Congress 
heretofore made notwithstanding. 

That the pay to each inspector be 166f dollars per month in full of 
all allowances. 

That each inspector, when appointed, shall take an oath for the faith- 
ful and impartial execution of the trust reposed in him as inspector of 
the contracts of the Army. 

Jxme 21, 1782. 

Resolved., That the Secretary of War institute an immediate enquiry 
into the reasons which have delayed the arrival of . . . necessa- 
ries which have already been provided and sent on to the Southern 
Army; and that he take every step in his power to discover the causes 
of delay, embezzlement, and other circumstances which have so fre- 
quently arrested the supplies for the Southern Army, and report thereon 
to Congress. 

Ordered., That the superintendent of finance report to Congress the 
causes which have pre\ente(l the Southern Army being supplied by 
contract. 



186 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

August 30, 1782. — ' ' The Quartermaster-General will furnish the commanding offi- 
cers of brigades with the signal flags, which are to be carefully preserved by the 
brigade quartermasters. " {Orders, (leueral Headquarters, Newhurgli.) 

September 1, 11 82. — " The general is desirous the troops should make themselves as 
comfortable as possible while in the field. The encampment itself is very pleasant 
and healthy. Straw will be issued at the rate of two bundles per tent; of this, with 
the fiags and leaves which may be procured, convenient mats or bedding may be 
formed. Shades or bowers should also be erected in front of the tents, in the con- 
struction of which regularity will be extremely pleasing to the eye." {Orders, Gen- 
eral Headquareirs, Verplanks Point.) 

Octoher m, 1782. 

Resolved., That the establishment of the Quartermaster's Depart- 
ment by the resohitions of Congress of the 15th of July, 1780, be, 
from and after the first day of January next, repealed and the fol- 
lowing- regulations then adopted in its stead: 

Besolved, That there be one Quartermaster-General, the present 
Quartermaster-General to be continued in office, and hereafter, as 
vacancies arise, to be appointed by Congress. 

That the Quartermaster-General, with the approbation of the Com- 
mander in Chief, appoint the following officers for the armies of the 
United States, viz: 

For the main ai"my: One deputy quartermaster, one wagon master, 
one commissary of forage, one director and one subdirector of a com- 
pany of artificers. 

For the Southern Army: One deputy quartermaster, one deputy 
commissary of forage, one deputy wagon master one director, and one 
subdirector of a company of artificers, and as many assistants as the 
service may require in the Main and Southern Ami} , to perform the 
duties of quartermasters of brigades, storekeepers, clerks, and such 
other duties in the Quartermaster's Department as the service may 
require, and also as many wagon conductors. 

That the pay per month of the officers in the Quartermaster-General's 
Department, including their pay in the line of the Army, shall be as 
follows: 

Quartermaster-General, 166f{f dollars; deputy quartermaster with 
the Southern Army, 125 dollars; deputy ((uartermastin- with the main 
army, 75 dollars; wagon master, 60 dollars; commissary of forage for 
the main army, 60 dollars; commissary of forag'e for the Southern 
Army, sixty dollars; deputy wagon master for the Southern Army, 50 
dollars; assistants in the Quartermaster's Department, each 80 dollars; 
wagon conductors, each 20 dollars; directors of artificers, each -10 dol- 
lars, subdirectors of ditto, each 26 1^ dollars. 

That the following be the proportion of wagons and ])athorses to the 
different ranks of officers, unless otherwise directed in special cases 
by the Commander in Chief or commanding officer of the Southern 
Army: 

The Commander in Chief and commanding officer of the Southern 
Army, for their own accommodation and for their families, as many 
baggage wagons and Ijathorses as they niay think necessary. 

Major-general and family, one covered four-horse wagon and one 
two-horse wagon. 

Brigadier-general and family, one covered four-horse wagon. 

Colonel, lieutenant-colonel, and major, one covered four-horse 
wacou. 



THE quartermaster's DEPARTMENT. 187 

Captains and subalterns of a reg-imeut, for their baggage, one cov- 
ered four-horse wagon. 

Surgeon, paymaster, adjutant, and quarternaaster, regimental staff, 
one covered four-horse wagon. 

Brigade quartermaster, one bathorse. 

For the tents of a regiment, for every 75 men, but this to be varied 
according to the weight of the tents and the state of the roads, one 
open four-horse wagon. 

Quartermaster-General, for his baggage, according to his rank, for 
his books, papers, &c., as manj^ as he shall find necessary. 

Deputy quartermaster with the main army or with a separate army, 
for his baggage and for his books, papers, &c. , one covered four-horse 
wagon. 

Commissary of forage with the main army, his clerks and assistants, 
one covered four-horse wagon. 

Deput}^ commissary of forage with a separate armv, one two-horse 
wagon. 

Wagon master and clerks, one covered four-horse wagon. 

Deputy wagon master with the Southern Army, his clerk and assist- 
ants, one two-horse wagon or two bathorses. 

Inspector-General, for his baggage, according to his rank; and for 
his papers, as the Commander in Chief may direct. 

Inspectors, one two-horse wagon. 

Adjutant-General, two covered four-horse wagons; for the baggage 
of his assistant, clerks, and official papers, one two-horse wagon. 

Judge-Advocate, one two-horse wagon. 

Deputy judge-advocate for the Southern Army, one two-horse wagon. 

Commissary of prisoners, one two-horse wagon. 

Deputy commissary of prisoners, Southern Army, one two-horse 
wagon. 

Provost-marshal, with prisoners and guards, one open four-horse 
wagon. 

Field commissary of military stores and his deputy with the main 
and Southern Army, each, one bathorse. 

Deputy paymaster with the main and Southern Arni}^, each, one 
two-horse wagon. 

Field postmaster, one bathorse. 

Provided, that if the number of wagons stated above should prove 
insufficient, the Quartermaster-General may occasionally furnish such 
additional carriages as the Commander in Chief or commanding officer 
of a separate army or the Secretary at War mav direct. 

That a ration of forage per day shall consist of 14 pounds of hay 
and 10 quarts of oats for eadi horse. 

That there be issued to the Commander in Chief, and to the com- 
manding officer of a separate army, and to those of their suite, as 
many rations as the service may require. 

That there be allowed for saddle horses: 

Rations. 

To a major-general and family 7 

Brigadier-general and family 5 

Colonel of infantry or artillery 2 

Lientenant-colonel 2 

^rajor 2 

( 'haplain 1 

Surgeon 1 

Adjutant 1 



188 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENEEAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Rations. 

Quartermaster 1 

Brigade quartermaster 1 

Quartermaster-General, as the service may require. 

Deputy quartermaster with the army 2 

Captain of engineers 1 

Commissary of forage 2 

Deputy with Southern Army 2 

Wagon master and clerks 3 

Deputy wagon master, separate army 2 

Inspector-general, agreeable to his rank. 

Inspector, in addition to what he di'aws in the line I 

Adjutant-General 4 

Deputy with a separate army 3 

Each assistant 2 

Commissary of prisoners 2 

Deputy with a separate army 2 

Judge-advocate 2 

Deputy with a separate army 2 

Provost-marshal 1 

Field commissary of military stt )res 2 

Deputy with a separate army 2 

Deputy paymaster 1 

Officers of cavalry to be allowed to draw foi'age for the following number of 
horses, provided they actually keep the same: 

Colonel 3 

Lieutenant-colonel 2 

Major - 2 

Captain 2 

Lieutenant 1 

Cornet 1 

Paymaster \ 

Quartermaster . . > Exclusive of allowance as officers in the line, each 1 

Adjutant J 

Surgeon I 

Remlved^ That the Quartermaster-General, Avith the approbation of 
the Sec'r(>tarv at War, shall appoint so many assistants to reside in the 
several States as the pul)lic service Diay require. 

That all officers in the Quartermaster-Generars Department, of 
whatever denomination, shall take the oaths of allegiance and the oath 
of office prescri])ed l)y Congress before they enter on business. 

That the Quartermaster-General make a return of the names and 
station of each person to be appointed in his department. 

That in settling the accounts of officers in the said department, no 
pay or allowance whatever l)e granted to any person employed therein 
whose name and employment, together with a certificate of his having 
taken the aforesaid oaths, shall not have been returned within two 
months after his acceptance of such office. 

Octd>er '29, 1782. 

Resolved^ That the Quartermaster-General be allowed 15 rations 
per day; 

That the deputy quartermaster with the Southern Army be allowed 
12 rations per day; 

That all assistants in the Quartermaster's Department be allowed, 
each of them, two rations per day. 

That the wagon master, connnissary of forage for the Main Army, and 
commissarv of forage for the Southern Army be each allowed live 
rations per day; 



THE quakteemastee's depaetment. 189 

That the deputy wagon master with the Southern Army be allowed 
four rations per day; 

That the wagon conductors be each of them allowed a ration and a 
half per day; 

That tiie directors of the artificers be allowed, each of them, three 
rations per ctay, and the subdirectors, each of them, two rations per 
day; 

And that the foregoing rations shall be inclusive of what the several 
officers aforesaid ma}' be entitled to draw in the line of the Army, 

Nore)iihcr 8, 1182. — "The quartermaster having represented his inability to procure 
forapji! during the winter for the wh<:'le number of horses allowed to the general and 
other otticers of the line and staff who remain with tlie troops in the New Windsor 
eantonments, has proposed to supply in the following proportion, which has been 
approved by the Commander in Chief: 

To a major-general, rations for 3 horses 

* -;<- * 

Hrigadier and adjutant general 3 " 

Brigadier-general 2 " 

* * * 

Inspector of the Northern Army, f As they will have to visit and mus- ) 2 " 

Assistant inspector \ ter detachments. J 2 " 

Captain of engineers 1 " 

Brigade major 1 " 

Brigade quartermaster 1 " 

* * * 

Assistants of adjutant-general, each 1 " 

( ieographer and assistants, together 1 

Judge-advocate 1 ' 

Director of hospitals 2 " 

Each hospital physician 1 " 

Ajiothecary 1 " 

Purveyor or steward 1 " 

* * * 

Commissary of prisoners (his business often requiring his absence) 2 " 

Quartermaster-General 2 " 

Each of his assistants 1 " 

( 'Ommissary of forage 2 " 

Each of his assistants (who are eiuployed riding in the countrjO 1 " 

Wagonmaster-general 2 " 

Each of his assistants employed on duty of riding 1 " 

It will be oi)ti()nal to those wlio are entitled to keep a greater number of horses than 
are allowed in the foregoing to deliver \\\> the surphis to the Quartermaster-General, 
who will send them to some distance from camji and keep them at pul)lic expense, 
or they may keep them at their own charge and lie will pay them the amount of the 
rations which such horses would have drawn had they remained with the Army." 
(Orders, General Headquarters, Newhurgh.) 

November 12, 1782. 

Resolved, That the geographer to the ma,in army, and the geographer 
to the Southern department be each of them allowed . . . forage 
lor two saddle horses, one two-horse covered wagon, ... 

That the assistant geographers ... be allowed forage for one 
saddle horse. 

Decemher 2J^, 1782. 

Resolved, That the Quartermaster- General furnish all extraordinary 
expresses when the service require them, any ordinance or resolution 
of Congress to the contrarj- notwithstanding. 



190 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

February 11, 1783.— The Quartermaster-General agrees to give six pence, or half 
a ration, per cord for the wood cut for the use of the hospitals, of which the parties 
employed for that purpose may avail themselves. {Orders, General Headquarters, 
Newburgh. ) 

April 17, 1783. 

Resolved, That immediate measures be taken for the sale of all the 
drag-oon horses belonging to the United States, and of all such articles 
in the several military departments as may not be necessary for the use 
of the Army, previous to its reduction, or for the formation of maga- 
zines on a peace establishment. 

January 29, 1784.. 

Resolved, That the principals in the several departments of Quarter- 
master-General . . . be, and they are hereb}^ ordered to trar. - 
mit as soon as may be to the War Office, to be laid before Congress, an 
exact return of all the stores in their respective departments, specify- 
ing the quantity and quality of each article, where deposited, in whose 
care, and in what manner secured. 

Febrtiarii 23, 1785. 

Resolved, That the Quartermaster-General . . .be required 
without delay to forward to the Board of Treasiu-y or to the Comp- 
troller a list of their respective deputies who have l>een duly author- 
ized to issue certificates. 

July 25, 1785. 

Resolved, That the department of Quartermaster-General l)e (■( ii- 
sidered as ceasing on the day of passing this resolution, and that the 
Secretary at War and all others concerned govern themselves accord- 
ingly. 

Octoher 2, 1788. 

The committee, consisting of Mr. Howard, Mr. Few, Mr. Dayton, 
Mr. Gilman, and Mr. Carrington, appointed to make full enquiry into 
the proceedings in the Department of War, beg leave to report and to 
present to the view of Congress a summary statement of the various 
branches of the Department of War: 



7th. — OF THE gUARTERM aster's DEPARTMENT. 

The Quartermaster's Department on the frontiers is arranged on 
Y)rinciples highly economical and beneficial to the public. 

Instead of an officer at the head of this department, with his train 
of attendants, all supplies are furnished by the contractors of provi- 
sion, who have also, from time to time, contracted with the Secretary 
at War to furnish all necessary articles on the frontiers which shall be 
required for the troops, on the following principles: 

1st. No articles to be furnished but by an ord^r in writing fi-om the 
commanding officer of the troops or the conniianding officer of a sepa- 
rate post, who shall be responsible to the Secretary at War that only 
such articles shall be ordered as the situation of the troops render 
indispensably necessary. 



THE QUAKTERMASTER's DEPARTMENT. 191 

2d. That for all articles so furnished the original bills of parcels 
shall be produced b}- the contractor, which shall oe verified upon oath 
if re(piired. 

3d. That no charge shall be allowed the contractors which shall be 
deficient in the vouchers, the nature of which are preciselv carried 
out. 

4th. That for all supplies, advances, and services rendered in this 
line the contractor shall have an allowance made of 5 per cent on the 
settlement of their account, every six months, at the Treasury. 

All necessary articles which are furnished within the State for the 
troops are purchased by the Secretary at War without any commission 
or charge thereon to the public. 

This arrangement existed previously to the resolve of Congress for 
abolishing the Quartermaster-GeneraFs Department, July 25, 1785. 

STATUTES AT LARGE. 

Act of March 3, 1791 {1 Stats., 222). 

AN ACT for raising and adding another regiment to the militarj' establishment of 

the United States, and for making furtlier provision for tlie protection of the 

frontiers. 

* * * 

Sec. 5. That in case the President of the United States should 
deiMU the employment of a . . . quartermaster . . . essen- 
tial to the public interest, that he l)e, and he hereby is, empowered, hj 
and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint the same 
accordingly. 

Sec. 6. That in case a . . . quartermaster . . . should be 
appointed, their pa}^ and allowances shall be, respectively, as herein 
mentioned; 

. . . That the quartermaster shall be entitled to the same pay, 
rations, and forage as the lieutenant-colonel commandant of a regi- 
ment. . 



Act ofJlarch 0, 1792 {1 Stats., 21^1). 

AN ACT for making further and more effectual provision for the frontiers of the 

United States. 
-X- -x- * 

Sec. 7. That the monthly pay of the commissioned officers, . . . 
on the military establishment of the United States, . . . shall be 
in future as follows, free of all deductions, to wit: General statT: 
. . . (juartermaster, one hundred dollars, . . . deputy quar- 
termaster, fifty dollars. ... 

* * * 

Act of May 8, 1792 {1 Stats., 279). 

AN ACT making alterations in the Treasury and War Departments. 

* . * * * 

Sec. 5. That all purchases and contracts for supplying the Army 
with . . . supplies in the Quartermaster's Department . . . 
be made by or under the direction of the Treasur}^ Department. 

* * * 



192 liKOXiSLATlVK HiSTOKV V>>^ UKXiOvAL STAFF i>K l'. S. AKMY. 

^' - ,• ^S^ t?^ ■ • "^ This* act Oi^taWishtxl in t)u^ Tn\^vuy lV{«rt«uM»t ilit» 

•rv<>\\x»^ v>'- -i>lit\<. Hij! \Uitit\>« woiv t>.» v\nuliu't tho \»i\vurt»>^4: ami 

;. ^ .^Jf all arr . \ ^■tv,>^\^ \nvvmv>«Js cK»thu\i;. elv\ IHs* v\nuiHMijiHtKm 

\v5tjt liwsl at ^AXX> ^Hn' aimmUv axul U^tterstv^ a»»U tn*»« hu« wt-n'' tv» Ih> ivjn>n\\l tnv 
vt'f ^wstsvgw TUtHxttUv \vasal>oii^H\\ aftwMax ^l> l!^2> by tht^aot v»i Marvh i^ ISl:^. 

AN ACr tvMT ^\>ttt»>x>hxsJ aiul ¥<c«^xlattii^ th(e> nxili^arv «^t«tt>Ut$)uuv>nt <>f tW VuiWil 

8t»t<tN!^ a*Hl t\Mr n*t><e«U»»^ s^xuaviry avts Wwtv>fvxn> j>as?tHl vux that siswbjwt 

* * * 

Src, XK\ Ihs^t the mouthlv pay of the oiKwt^ . . . on tho nnU- 
t»i Y ojitiihlisihuiont i>lf tho Vuitevl Statoj^x K> a^^ foUows, to wit: Ctonovul 
«ilutl» . . . a QimrtonuastoV'iietteraL ono hiuuiiwi dolUwT!*; . , , 

8*ji\ 1 U That t)\o v\>t«wisfvioned oifiivr*t atorcNsaid shall he entithnl 
to itwiYo fvi-r their vlaily s^uMstenw the followinjj uuiuKn* of rativ>n*i 
of pi\>Yt5UOM«i. to wU; \ . . Quarteruxa:stor-lienei-al 4x 

i-ation?^; . . , a deputy ^uaiieruiasiter, two fat ions or 

uionev in Ueu thei\H>f, at the option of the sixid otlii-ers, ;U lUo v.\m« 
ti-aot priwx at the jxxsits, twjHvttvely, when'' the nttions shall Inwme 
due. 

5>Kt\ ld» That the oiKtvrs hereitxafter dt^^eriKxl shall, whexxever 
fox-ajiv shall not W furnishtxl hy the puhlie, xwvive at the nxte of th© 
f olU>\v iuii^ enmnerat"i\l sxxms^ per wvHxth, ixxstead thereof, to wit : , . . 
Quaxierixvaster-Uexxeral , , , twelve dv>llars: . , . deputy 
^uax'teruxaster ... six dollars. 



AN VvT tv* aiAvrtaixi aad fix tlw» waKtary icN<itatttx>i^xuiesnt vxf th*> Fxixt^si Sj^tatiets. 

* » * 

S«t>, S, ThvHt there shall be v >ne Qxxartenxxaster-ljeneral . . . 

* * * 

SKt\ I:*. That the mox»thly i^y of the othvvrs . . . of the mill- 
tary »t>stahlisluxxe*xt he as t\>Uo\vsi: , , , ^pxarterx waster , , , 
iivixettxN in addition to their j)ay in the line, twenty -tive dol~ 

lafs. 

Sxsw LX ilxixi the vv^^xuxiss^ione<l ottivvx>i aforesaivl shall Iv entithxl 
to ivivive tor their daily siiHsisteixvv the following nuuilvr of x-^iioxxs 
of prv>Yisi<i>as; , , , a qxxarterixxaster . . . ^\>«erals eaoh six 
ratioxxs , , , or money in liexi therev>f , at the optioxx of the said 
otKv\>rs^ at the jx>sts, resjxvtiYely, where the rativ>xxs iOxall Kxviixe dxie: 
axnl if, at such iv>stsH supplies are xxot furnishevl by wnti-Hct, then sueh 
allowancv shall K> deemevl evjuitaWe, havtxt^ refereuet> to fonxxer ec»»- 
tracts and the |xxsitiox\ of the plae<? in vpiestxv^x. 

Sxix\ 14. rhat the otKeers hereiixafter des«.^ribe\l shall, \Yhexxe\-er for- 
c W furnished by the public, re^vive at the rate v>f the 
-uuerat^xt sums per month, iust<^dtherv\>f,towit: . , , 
mvaiu iuuih>icr . . , gvuerals, each, twelve dollars, , , . 

S^w :J3v That the gvHxeral statf , fis authv>riat\i by this act, shall con- 
tinxxe ix\ servic<e> xwxtil the 4th dav oif ixext March and uo Icoxger, 



riiK (>r aim'mumastkk's dkivmm'mknt. VX^ 

Ac/ of March ■>", 17!): (/ Stuh., r>07). 

V\ ACT to Miiifinl ami icpcal, in part, llic arl ciiiillcil " \\\ acl In ascfilaiii ami 
ti\ llu' military i>stal>li-'^lmuMit ol' llu- I'niloil States." 

* * * 

Sk(\ ;>. Tlmt tluM(> shall hr oiu^ (^iiarttMMUiislor-Cionoral 
\vlu> sliall rrc(M\(> tlir saiiu^ |»ay aiul (>iii()limn>nls, i't\>^poctivolv, whioh 
tlioso (>llir(Ms lia\o luM-t'(ot'i>i-(> hroii allowcHl Ity law. 

* * * 

Act of M'aif .:'.s', r:vs (/ naca^., ,t,w). 

A\ \('r aiithoi'i/iiij:; tin> ricsiiloiit of tln> I'liitod States to rais(> a |>r(i\isiimal annv. 

■K- * * 

Skc. T. 'That ill cast^ (ho rri'sidonl shall jiulo-o (ho oni]>K>yinon( ol' ii 
Qii!irtormas(iM--(uMUM-!il . . . (>ssoM(ial (o (lu* public iiitiM'os(, Iums 
htMvhy jiii(h(M-i/.(Ml, by ami \\i(h (lu^ aih ico aiul oousont of {\w SiMitite, 
to app«Mn( (ho sanio aoroiHlinoly, who shall ho (Mitidod (o tlu» rank, 
]iay, and iMnolunnMils which follow, \i/: Quaf(onnastor-(JoM(M'al, (ho 
rjuik. pay, aiul oiuoluinontsot" a lioutonaiit-t'oloMol: . . . /)■<>/'/'(/,(/, 
That in t'aso tho ProsiikMit shall jiulni* it oxpodiont to appoint a . . . 
Quart iM'niastor-Cionoral, ... in tho voooss of tho Sonato, ho is 
horohy autiiori/od io niako any or all o( said appointnuMits, and yrant 
coiuniissions thoroi>n, which shall c\[mi(> at tho ond of tho noxt session 
o\' (h(> Soiiatt^ thofoaftof. 

Skc. !'. That lh(> . . (^uaftonnastor-Cionoral . . who 

may bo app(>in(od by \iftiu> {)( this act shall, rospocti\(*ly, continue in 
tHnnuiissit>n duriuii'siuh ((>riu only as tho President shall judoc iHMiuisito 
for tho public ser\ii'0. 

Six'. !(•. That no . . . stall oliictM" who shall l)e appointtnl by 
virtue o\' this act shall b(> ontitKnl to receive pay or emoluments until 
he shall b(> called in(o tu'tual sei'viee, nor for any lonoor time than he 
siiall continue therein. ... 

* * * 

Act of Jul 1/ 16, /:VS{/ <sV(^As'., O'/O). 

AN ACf to altcraiul amend tlic several acts for (he ostahlishmout aiul reu;nla(ion of 
the Treasury, War. ami Navy Popartments. 

■x- x- * 

Skc. ;>. That all purchases and contracts for supplies or services for 
tlu^ military . . ., service of the United States shall bo made by 
ov under the direction of the ehief otHcors of the Departnients of War 
. and all aiiont^ or eontraetors for suyiplios or services as afore- 
saiil shall render their accounts for sottlenient to the ai't'ountant of the 
proper Pepartment for whii'h siu-h supplies or sorvit'os are n^iuirod, 
sul)jeet, novortholoss. to the inspection and re\"ision »»f tlie oIliciMs o\' 
the Treasury in mamuM- bofm-o ])reseriboil. 

Skc. 4. Tiiat it shall bo the duty of the jnirvoytn- o\' public supplies 
to exeeute all such orders as ho may from time to time ri>coi\ (^ fronv 
the SeeretMrv of ^^'ar, . . . relative io (ho proourino- and provid- 
ing" of all kinds of stiiros and supplies; :ind shall render his ai'counts 

S. Doc. 22i) la 



194 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENEEAL STAFF OF V. S. ARMY. 

relative thereto to the accountants of the proper Departments, which 
accounts shall be subject to the inspection and revision of the officers 
of the Treasury as aforesaid. 

Sec. 5. That the provision of the act passed on the eighth day of 
May, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-two, intituled ''An act 
makino- alterations in the Treasury and War Departments," and the 
act passed on the twenty-third day of February, one thousand seven 
hundred and ninety-live, intituled "An act to establish the office of 
purveyor of public supplies," so far as the same are repugnant to the 
provisions of this act, ])e, and the same are hereby, repealed. 

Sec. 6. That all contracts to be made by virtue of this act or of any 
law of the United States, and requiring the advance of money, or to 
be in any manner connected with the settlement of public accounts, 
shall be deposited in the office of the Comptroller of the Treasury of 
the United States within ninety days after their dates, respectively. 

Act of March 3, 1799 {1 SU/fs., 71^9). 

AN ACT for the lietter organizing of the troops of the United States, and for other 

purposes. 



Sec. 6. That when any officer shall be detached from a regiment, to 
serve as an . . . assistant to the Quartermaster-General, by what- 
soever name, . . . the place of such officer in his regiment shall 
be supplied by promotion or new appointment, or both, as may be 
requisite; butthe officer detached shall, nevertheless, retain his station 
in his regiment and shall rank and rise therein in the same manner as 
if he had not been detached. 

Sec. T. That no officer shall l)e appointed ... as the quarter- 
master of a division who, when appointed, shall be of a rank higher 
than that of captain, or as the quartermaster of a brigade w^ho, when 
appointed, shall be of a rank higher than that of first lieutenant . . . 

* -X- * 

Sec. 10. That there shall be a Quartermaster-General of the Army 
of the United States, who shall be entitled to the rank, pay, emolu- 
ments, and privileges of a major-general. 

•» * * 

Sec. 12. That to any army of the United States, other than that in 
which the Quartermaster-General shall serve, there shall be a deputy 
quartermaster-general, who shall be a held officer, and who, in addi- 
tion to his other emoluments, shall be entitled to lif ty dollars per month, 
which shall be in full compensation for his extra services and travelling- 
expenses; but the provisions of this act are not to affect the present 
(Quartermaster-General of the Army of the United States, who, in case 
a (^uai-termaster-General shall be appointed by virtue of this act, is to 
act as deputy quartermaster-general, and shall hereafter have the rank 
of lieutenant-colonel; and that to every division of an army there shall 
be a division quartermaster, who, in addition to his other emoluments, 
shall be entitled to thirty dollars per month, which shall be in full 
compensation for his extra services and travelling expenses; and that 
to every brigade there shall be a brigade quartermaster, who, in addi- 
tion to his other emoluments, shall be entitled to twenty-four dollars 
per month, which shall be in full compensation for his extra services 



THE quartermaster's DEPARTMENT. 195 

and travelling expenses; each of which officers shall be chosen by the 
Quartermaster-General from among the regimental officers. 

-X- * * 

Sec. 24. That it shall be lawful for the Secretary of War to cause 
to be provided in each and every year all . . . camp utensils and 
equipage . . . necessary for the troops and armies of the United 
States for the succeeding year, and for this purpose to make purchases 
and enter or cause to be entered into all necessary contracts or obliga- 
tions for effecting the same. 

Act of March 16, 1802 {2 Stats., 132). 

AN ACT fixing the military peace establishment of the United States. 
-X- * * 

Sec. 3. That there shall be . . . three military agents, and such 
number of assistant military agents as the President of the United 
States shall deem expedient, not exceeding one to each military post, 
which assistants shall be taken from the line; . . . 

Sec. 4. That the monthly pay of the officers ... be as follows, 
to wit: ... to each assistant militar}^ agent eight dollars, in 
addition to his pa}^ in the line, except the assistant military agents at 
Pittsl)urg and Niagara, who shall receive sixteen dollars each, in addi- 
tion to their pay in the line; . 

* * * 

Act of April 12, 1808 {2 Stats., 1^81.) 

AN ACT to raise for a limited time an additional military force. 

* * * 

Sec. 8. That when, in the opinion of the President of the United 
States, a suitable proportion of the troops authorized by this act shall 
be raised, there may be appointed , . . two brigade quartermas- 
ters; ... 

Sec. 4. That the compensation of the officers . . . authorized 
by this act shall be, viz: . . . each l^rigade quartermaster . . . 
twenty dollars . . . per month in addition to their pay in the 
line; and to each six dollars per month for forage, when not fur- 
nished. 

-X- * * 

Sec. S. That in the recess of the Senate the President of the United 
States is hereby authorized to appoint all or any of the officers, other 
than the general officers, proper to be appointed under this act, which 
appointments shall be submitted to the Senate at the next session for 
their advice and consent. 

Skc. 9. That every . . . staff' officer to be appointed in virtue 
of this act shall be a citizen of the United States or some one of the 
Territories thereof. 

Act of March 28, 1812 {2 Stats., 696). 

AN ACT to establish a Quartermaster's Department, and for other purposes. 

That there be, and hereby is, established a Quartermaster's Depart- 
ment for the Army of the United States, to consist of a Quartermaster- 
General, four deputy quartermasters, and as many assistant deputy 



196 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

quartermasters as, in the opinion of tlie President of the United States, 
the public, service may require; the Quartermaster-General and deputy 
(luartcrmasters to be appointed by the President, by and with the 
advice and consent of the Senate, and the assistant deputy quarter- 
masters }\y the President alone. And he hereby is authorized, more- 
over, to appoint such additional numl)er of deputy quartermasters not 
exceeding- four, to be taken from the line or not, at his discretion, as 
in his judgment the public service may require. 

Sec. 2. That the Quartermaster-General shall be entitled to the 
rank, pay, and emoluments of a brigadier-general (under the act of 
the twelfth of April, one thousand eight hundred and eight), with forage 
for two additional horses; the deputy quartermasters, when not taken 
from the line, shall be entitled to receive sixty dollars per month, liv^e 
rations per day, and forage for two horses, but if taken from the line, 
then such additional pa}' and emoluments as shall be equal to the fore- 
going provision; the assistant deputy quartermasters, when not taken 
from the line, shall be entitled to and receive forty dollars per month, 
three rations per day, and forage for one horse, but if taken from the 
line, then such additional pay and emoluments as shall be equal to the 
foregoing provision. 

Sec. 3. That, in addition to their duties in the field, it shall be 
the duty of the Quartermaster-General, his deputies, and assistant depu- 
ties, when thereto directed by the Secretarv of War, to purchase mili- 
tary stores, camp equipage, and other articles requisite for the troops, 
and generally to procure and provide means of transport for the 
Arm}", its stores, artillery, and camp equipage; that the Quartermaster- 
General shall account, as often as may be required, and at least once 
in three months, with the Department of War, in such manner as shall 
be prescribed, for all property which may pass through his hands or 
the hands of the subordinate officers in his department, or that may be 
in his or their care or possession, and for all moneys which he or they 
may expend in discharging their respective duties; that he shall be 
responsible for the regularity and correctness of all returns in his 
department, and that he, his deputies, and assistant deputies, before 
they enter on the execution of their respective offices, shall severally 
take an oath faithfully to perform the duties thereof. 
* * * 

Sec. 5. That ... it shall be the duty of the deputy commis- 
saries, when directed thereto, ... in cases of necessity, liy the 
. Quartermaster-General or deputy quartermasters, to pur- 
chase all such of the aforesaid articles as may be requisite for the mili- 
tary service of the United States. 

Sec. 6. That neither . . . the Quartermaster-General . . . 
shall, directly or indirectly, be concerned or interested in carrying on 
the business of trade or commerce, or be owner, in whole or in part, 
of any sea vessel; nor shall (either of them) purchase, by himself or 
another in trust for him, public lands or any other public property, 
or be concerned in the purchase or disposal of any public securities of 
any State or of the United States, or take or apply to his own use 
any emolument or gain for negotiating or transacting any business in 
the said department, other than what shall be allowed by law; and if 
. . . the said Quartermaster-General . . . shall ofi'end against 
any of the prohibitions of this act, the parties so ofi'ending shall, upon 
conviction, forfeit to the United vStates the penalty of three thousand 
dollars and may be imprisoned for a term not exceeding five years, 



THE QCJARTEEMASTER'S DEPARTMENT. 197 

and .shall be removed from office and be forever thereafter incapable 
of holdint^- any office mider the United States. 

■X- * -X- 

Sec. 10. That all letters and packets to and from the Quartermaster- 
General . . . shall be free from postage. 

* * * 

Sec. 12. That the Quartermaster-General be authorized to appoint 
a principal wagon master and as many wagon masters as he maj^ judge 
necessary for the service of the Army, not exceeding one to each bri- 
gade, whose duty it shall be, under the direction of the Quartermaster- 
General or any of his deputies, to provide and conduct the wagons and 
other means of transport necessary and proper for the military service 
of the United States. 

Sec. 13. That no wagon master shall, directly or indirectly, be con- 
cerned or interested in any wagon or means of transport employed in 
the service of the United States, nor in the purchase or sale of any 
horses, harness, wagons, or other means of transport procured for or 
belonging to the United States, except as agent for the United States. 

Sec. 14. That the principal wagon master shall be entitled to receive 
forty dollars per month, three rations per day, and forage for one 
horse; and each wagon master shall be entitled to receive thirty dol- 
lars per month, two rations per day, and. forage for one horse. 

Sec. 15. That the Quartermaster-General be authorized to appoint 
one principal forage master and as many assistant forage masters as the 
nature of the service may require, not exceeding one to each brigade, 
w^hose duty shall be, under the direction of the Quartermaster-General 
or any of his deputies, to provide and deliver out forage necessary and 
proper for the military service of the United States; nor shall any for- 
age master be directly or indirectly concerned in the purchase or sale 
of any article of forage procured for or belonging to the United States, 
except as an agent for tne United States. 

Sec. 10. That the principal forage master shall be entitled to and 
receive forty dollars per month, three rations per day, and forage for 
two horses; and that the other forage masters shall be entitled to and 
receive thirty dollars per month, two rations per daj", and forage for 
one horse. 

* * * 

Sec. 18. That this act shall go into operation on the first day of 
April next; and that so much of the act fixing the military peace estab- 
lishment of the United States as respects the appointment of military 
agents and assistant military agents be, and the same is hereby, 
repealed from and after that day; but all those agents shall continue 
to perform their respective duties in the meantime and until the 
deputy and assistant deputy quartermasters shall be appointed and 
ready to enter on the execution of their respective offices; to whom 
the said military agents and assistant military agents shall then deliver 
all the public stores and property in their possession. 

Sec. 1H. That all persons attached to the public service by virtue of 
this act shall be subject to military law. 

Sec. 20, That the President may and hereby is authorized, in the 
recess of the Senate, to appoint the Qviartermaster-General, deputy 
(luurtermasters ... or any of them, which appointments shall 
be submitted to the Senate at their next session for their advice and 
consent. 



198 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Act of April 23, 1812 {2 Stats., 710). 
AN ACT for the organization of a corps of artificers. 

That there shall be attached to the Quartermaster-Gene''al'.s Depart- 
ment, and subject to the orders of the officers thereof, a corps of 
artificers, to consist of one superintendent, to be appointed by the 
President of the United States, four assistants, two master masons, two 
master carpenters, two master blaclismiths, two master boat builders, 
two master armorers, two master saddle and harness makers, twenty 
house carpenters, five ship carpenters, twenty ])lacksmiths, sixteen 
boat builders, sixteen armorers, twelve saddle and harness makers, 
and twenty-four laborers, to be selected from the privates of the Army 
when authorized thereto by the commanding general, or engaged from 
among the citizens by the superintendent. 

Sec. 2. That the pay of the superintendent of artificers shall be 
forty-five dollars per month, three rations per day, and forage for one 
horse; that the pay of the four assistants l)e each thirty dollars per 
month and two rations per day; that the pay of the twelve master 
workmen be each thirty dollars per month and one ration and one-half 
of a ration per day; that the pay of the other workmen be each sixteen 
dollars per month and one ration and one-half of a ration per da^^ 

Sec. 3. That it shall be the duty of the superintendent of artificers 
to render a correct report, once each month, of the corps to the Quar- 
termaster-General, and on oath to make out the pay roll thereof, 
which pay roll shall be examined by the Quartermaster-General, or in 
his absence by one of the deputy quartermasters, and by him be coun- 
tersigned; and faithfully and without delay to execute all such orders 
as he may receive from the Secretary of War, any officer of the Quar- 
termaster's Department, or from the officer commanding in the field 
or garrison to which his corps, or any part thereof, may be attached. 

Sec. 4. That this corps shall be engaged for and during the term of 
three years, unless sooner discharged by the President of the United 
States. 



Act of May 22, 1812 {2 Stats., 7^2). 

AN ACT to amend an act entitled "An act to establish a Quartermaster's Depart- 
ment, and for other purposes. ' ' 

That neither . . . the Quartermaster-General . . . nor 
any or either of their deputies or assistant deputies shall be concerned, 
directly or indirectly, in the purchase or sale, for commercial pur- 
poses, of any article intended for, making a part of, appertaining to 
their . . . departments, except for and on account of the United 
States; nor shall they . . . take or apply to his or their own use 
any gain or emolument for negotiating or transacting any business in 
their respective departments other than what is or may be allowed by 
law. 

Sec. 2. That the Quartermaster-General be, and he is herebj", 
empowered to appoint one principal barrack master, and as many 
deputy barrack masters as may from time to time be necessary, not 
exceeding one to each separate barrack or cantonment, which said 
principal barrack master shall be entitled to receive the same pay, 
rations, and emoluments as the principal forage master, and each of 



THE quartermaster's DEPARTMENT. 199 

bis deputies the same pay, rations, and euioluments as is by law allowed 
to a deputy forage master. 

* * * 

Sec. 4. That the Quartermaster-General, the deputy quartermaster, 
and the assistant deputy quartermasters shall, before they or either of 
them enter upon the duties of their appointment, respectively enter 
into bond, with sufficient security, to be approved of by the Secretary 
at War, conditioned for the faithful expenditure of all public moneys, 
and accounting- for all public property which may come into their 
hands respectively; and the Quartermaster-General shall not be liable 
for any money or property that may come into the hands of the subor- 
dinate officers of his department. 

Sec. 5. That the sixth section of the act hereby amended be, and 
the same is hereby, repealed. 

Act ofJaJy 6', 18m {^2 Stat.s., 782). 

AN ACT respecting the pay of the Army of the United States. 

That . . . to a brigade quartermaster . . . there shall be 
idlowed forage for one horse only, or, in lieu thereof, ten dollars per 
month; . . . 

Act of Jill ij 6, 1812 {2 Stats., 784). 

AN ACT making further provisions for tlie Army of the United States, and for other 

purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 2. That to any army of the United States, other than that in 
which the . . . Quartermaster-General of the Army shall serve, 
it shall be lawful for the President to appoint one . . . deputy 
quartermaster-general, . . . who shall be taken from the line of 
the Army, and who shall each, in addition to his pay and other emol- 
uments, be entitled to tifty doUars per month, which shall be in full 
compensation for his extra services. And that there shall be, to each 
of the foregoing deputies, such number of assistant deputies (not 
exceeding three to each department) as the public service may require, 
who .shall, in like manner, be taken from the line, and who shall each 
he entitled to thirty dollars per month, in addition to his pay and 
other emoluments, which shall be in full compensation for his extra 
services: And provided at so., That the President of the United States 
be, and he is hereby, authorized to appoint any of the officers named 
in the act during the recess of the Senate, to be submitted to the Sen- 
ate at their next meeting for their advice and. consent. 



Act of March 3, 1813 {2 Stats., 816). 

AN ACT the better to provide for the supplies of the Army of the United States, 
and for the accountability of persons entrusted with the same. 

* * * 

Sec. 2. [The superintendent-general of military supplies shall] pre- 
scribe the forms of all the returns and accounts of such stores and 
supplies purchased, on hand, (listril)uted, used, or sold, to be rendered 



200 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

by . . . the several officers in the Quartermaster-General's 
Department, . . . 

Sec. 3. That . . . the several officers in the Qnartermaster- 
GeneraFs Department, . . . who shall have received or may be 
entrusted with any stores or supplies of any description whatever for 
the use of the Army of the United States and of the ^'olunteers or 
militia in their service shall render quarterly accounts of the disposi- 
tion and state of all such stores and su])plies to the superintendent 
aforesaid, and shall also malve such other returns respecting the same, 
and at such other times, as the Secretary for the War Department may 
prescribe: Proclded^ h(yicevei\ That the accounts and returns thus ren- 
dered shall relate to the articles of supply only which may have been 
received and disposed of, or as may remain on hand, and shall not 
embrace the specie accounts for monies disbursed by such officers 
; which specie accounts shall be rendered as heretofore to the 
accountants for the War Department. 

Sec. -l. That the officers . . . who may receive monies in 
advance from the War Department shall render quarterly accounts to 
the accountant of the said Department of their specie receipts and dis- 
bursements, and shall, moreover, make such other monthly summary 
statements thereof to the Secretary for the said Department as he may 
prescribe. 

Sec. 5. That the Secretary for the War Department shall be, and 
he is hereby, authorized and directed to deline and prescribe the spe- 
cies as well as the amount of supplies to be respectively purchased 
by the . . . Quartermaster-Generars departments and the respec- 
tive duties and powers of the said departments respecting- such pur- 
chases; . . . 

* * * 

Sec. 8. That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, 
empowered as he may deem it expedient ... to authorize any 
officer or officers in the Quartermaster-GeneraFs Department to sup- 
l)ly and issue as aforesaid the whole or any part of the subsistence of 
the Army in all cases where, either from the want of contractors or 
from any deficiency on their part or from any contingenc^y, such 
measure may ])e proper and necessary in order to insure the subsist- 
ence of the Army or of any part thereof; . . . 



Act of March 3, 1813^ {3 Stats., 819). 

AN ACT for the better organization of the general staff of tlie Army of the United 

States. 

That the . . . Quartermaster-General's departments shall con- 
sist of the following officers; that is to say, . . . eight quarter- 
masters-general, eight deput}^ quartermasters-general, and thirty-two 
assistant deputy quartermasters-general. 

Sec. 2. That . . . the Quartermaster-General attached to the 

^The superintendent-general of military supplies authorized to be appointed under 
this act was not a staff officer, but a civilian with a salary of $3,000 per annum. His 
duties were to keep proper accounts of all military stores and supplies of every 
description purchased for the Army, the volunteers, and the militia, and to prescribe 
forms of all the returns and accounts of such stores and supplies, etc. 



THE QUAETEKMASTEE'S DEPARTMENT. 201 

principal Aruiy .shall, as heretofore, have the brevet rank and the pay 
and emoluments of a l)rig-adier-g'eneral. 

Sec. 3. That all the other . . . quartermasters-general shall 
have the brevet rank and the pay and emoluments of a colonel of 
infantr}-; . . . deputy quartermasters-general . . . shall 
have the brevet rank and the pay and emoluments of a major of cav- 
alry; and the . . . assistant deputy quartermasters-general shall 
have the l)revet rank and the pay and emoluments of a captain of 
infantrv. 

Sec. -i:. . . . The . . . Quartermasters-General, deputy 
quartermasters-general, . . . and assistant quartermasters-general, 
may be taken from the line or not as the President may deem expe- 
dient. 

* * * 

Sec. 8. That the forage, wagon, and barrack masters shall be 
appointed as heretofore; but each quartermaster-general attached to 
a separate army, command, or district shall be authorized, with the 
approbation and under the direction of the Secretary of the War 
Department, to appoint as many such officers, and to employ as many 
artificers, mechanics, and laborers as the public service may require. 

Sec. 9. That the assistant deputy quartermasters-general may be 
appointed, and officers taken from the line and transferred to the staff 
may be thus transferred by the President of the United States alone. 
But all other new appointments authorized by this act shall be made 
l)y the President of the United States, with tlie advice and consent of 
the S(niate: Provided, That during the recess of the Senate such 
appointments may be made l)y the President alone, in which case the 
same shall be laid l)efore the Senate at their next session for their 
advice and consent. 

Sec. 10. That every act, and any part of any act of Congress now 
in force within the purview and meaning of this act, be, and the same 
are hereljy, repealed. 

Sec. 11. That all letters and packets to and from the . . . quarter- 
masters-general, . . . which relate to their official duties, shall be 
free from postage. 

Act qfJIareh 30, ISU {3 Stats., 113). 

AN ACT for tlie better organizing, paying, and supplying the Army of the United 

States. 

* * * 

Sec. 20. That in no case shall the district . . . quartermasters 
of any grade be taken from the line of the Army. 

* * * 



Act ofDecemhei^ 16, 18 U {3 Stats., 161). 

AN ACT directing the staff oflieers of the Army to comply with the requisitions of 
naval and marine officers in certain cases. 

That it shall be the duty of the several officers of the staff of the 
Army of the United States to provide [on the requisition of the com- 
manding naval or marine officers when acting or proceeding to act on 



202 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENEKAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

shore in cooperation Avitli land troops] . . . the necessary trans- 
portation, as well for the, men as for their bagoage, provisions, and 
cannon : . . . 

Sec. 2. That the respective quartermasters of the Army shall, upon 
the requisition of the commanding" naval officer of any such detach- 
ment of seamen or marines, furnish the said officer and his necessary 
aids with horses, accoutrements, and forage during the time they may 
be employed in cooperating with the land troops as aforesaid. 



Act of March 3, 1810 (.J Stafs., 

AN ACT tixing the military peace estaliliHhnieiit of the TTiiited States. 



Sec. 3. That there shall l)e . . . four brigade quartermasters 
The . . . brigade quartermasters shall be taken from 
the subalterns of the line. 



May 17, 1S1.5. — . . . And the President of the United States has further judged 
proper, that, in addition to the provision for a general staff which is specifically made 
by the act of Congress, certain officers shall be retained under the special authority 
given by the act, until circumstances will permit of their discharge without material 
injury to the service; and that the following shall be the 

GENERAL STAFF. 



One Quartermaster-General and two deputy quartermasters-general to l)ei)rovision- 
ally retained. 

Four brigade ((uartermasters. 

* * * 

{General Orders, A. and J. r,'.',s Ofiice.) 

Act of Ajyril ^^, 181G (3 Sfn/.^., 297). 

AN ACT for organizing the general staff and making further provisions for tlie Army 

of the United States. 

That in addition to the act providing for a military peace establish- 
ment, the provisions of the act of March the third, one thousand eight 
hundred and thirteen, for the better organization of the general staff, 
be, and the same are hereb}^, so far established, that the general staff' 
shall, in future, consist of . . . one Quartermaster-General with 
one deputy quartermaster-general to a division; and an assistant of 
each to every brigade, which shall supersede the brigade quartermas- 
ters . . . now existing ... 



Sec. 6. That all officers of the . . . quartermaster's depart- 
ment, shall, previous to their entering on the duties of their respective 
offices, give good and sufficient bonds to the United States, fully to 
account for all moneys and pu])lic property which they may receive, 
in such sum as the Secretary of War shall direct. . . . 



THE quartermaster's DEPARTMENT. 203 

Ac/ i>f March S, 1S17 (->' StaU., 39J^). 

AN ACT to amend au act entitled "An act making furtlier provisions for military- 
services during the late war, and for other purposes." 

* * * 

Skc. 2. That the provisions contained in an act entitled "An actfix- 
ino- the military peace establishment of the United States," passed on 
the third of March, one thousand eic^ht hmidred and fifteen, granting 
to the commissioned officers of the Regirlar Army, who were deranged 
1)V .said act, three months' pay in addition to the pay and emoluments 
to which they were entitled by law at the time of their discharge, 
shall equally extend to wagon masters, forage masters, barrack masters, 
. . . who were deranged by the before-recited act, except those 
provisionally retained by the President of the United States- 

* * w 

Act of April U, 1S18 (.; Stat><., Jp9M). 
AN ACT regulating the staff of the Army. 

That SO much of the . . . "Act for organizing the general staff 
and making further provision for the Army of the United States," 
passed April twenty-fourth, one thousand eight hundred and sixteen, 
as relates to . . . forage, wagon, and barrack masters, and their 
assistants be, and the same is hereby, repealed. 

* * -x- 

Sec. 3. That so much of the act of the twenty-fourth of April, one 
thousand eight hundred and sixteen, aforesaid as relates to the quar- 
termaster-general of division shall ])e repealed and the Quartermaster's 
Department shall consist, in addition to the two deputy quartermas- 
ters-genei'al and the four assistant deputy quartermasters-general, now 
authorized, of one Quartermaster-General, with the rank, pay, and 
emolument of a l)rigadier-general, and as manj^ assistant deputy quar- 
masters-gen(M-al as the President shall deem proper, not exceeding in 
the whole number twelve. 



Act of May f ISW^ {3 Stats., 567). 

AN ACT in addition to the several acts for the establishment and regulation of the 
Treasury, War, and Navy Departments. 

* * * 

Sec. (3. That no contract shall hereafter be made by the Secretary 
of . . . the Department of War, . . . except under a law 
authorizing the same, or under an appropriation adequate to its f ul- 
tillment; and excepting, also, . . . contracts by the Quartermas- 
ter's Department, which mav be made by the secretaries of those 
departments. 

•X- * * 

^Section 5 of this act authorizes the President to direct a portion of the moneys 
appropriated respectively for the service of the Quartermaster's, Subsistence, and 
^Medical Dei)artments to be applied to any other of the above-mentioned branches of 
expenditure. 



204 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 
Act of March 3, 1S21 (,^ Sf.aLs., 615). 

AN ACT to reduce and fix tlu^ luilitary peace estahliHlinient of tlie TTuited States. 

* * * 

Sec. 7. That there shall be one Quartermaster-General; that there 
shall be two quartermasters, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of 
majors of cavalry; and ten assistant quartermasters, who shall, in 
addition to their pay in the line, receive a sum not less than ten nor 
more than twenty dollars per itionth, to be regulated by the Secretary 
of War. 

Sec. 8. That . . . the assistant quartermasters . . . shall 
be subject to duties in both departments [and Subsistence Department] 
under the orders of the Secretary of War. 

* * * 

Act of March 3, 189.5 (^ Statn., 127). 
AN ACT authorizing the sale of unserviceable onhiance, arms, and military stores. 

That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, author- 
ized to cause to be sold an}' . . . military stores . . . which, 
upon proper inspection and surve}', shall appear to be damaged or 
otherwise unsuitable for the public service, whenever, in his opinion, 
the sale of such unserviceable stores will be advantageous to the public 
service. 

Sec. 2. That the inspection or survey of the unserviceable stores 
shall be made by an inspector-general, or such other officer or officers 
as the Secretary of War may appoint for that purpose; and the sales 
shall be made under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed 
by the Secretary of War. 

Act of May 18, 1826 (^ Stats., 173). 

AN ACT regulating the accountability for clothing and equipage issued to the Army 
of the United States and for the better organization of the Quartermaster's 
Department. 

That it shall be the duty of the Quartermaster's Department, in 
addition to its present duties, to receive from the purchasing depart- 
ment and distribute to the Army of the United States all clothing and 
camp and garrison equipage required for the use of the troops; and 
that it shall be the duty of the Quartermaster-General, under the 
direction of the Secretary of War, to prescril)e and enforce, under the 
provisions of this act, a system of accountability for all clothing and 
equipage issued to the Army. 

Sec. 2. That every captain, or commander of a company', detach- 
ment, or recruiting station, or other officer, who shall have received 
clothing or camp equipage for the use of his command, or for issue to 
the troops, shall render to the Quartermaster-General, at the expiration 
of each regular quarter of the year, quarterly returns of such sup- 
plies, according to the forms which may be prescribed, accompanied 
by the requisite vouchers for any issue that shall have been made, which 
returns and vouchers, after due examination by the Quartermaster- 



THE QUARTERMASTEE's DEPARTMENT. 205 

General, shall })c transmitted for settlement to the proper officer of 
the Treasury Department. 

Sec. 3. That it shall be the duty of all officers charged with the 
issue of clothing- or other supplies carefully to preserve the same from 
waste or damage; and in case of dcliciency on final settlement of any 
article of supplies the value thereof shall be charged against the delin- 
(pient and deducted from his monthly pay, unless he shall show to the 
satisfaction of the Secretary of War by one or more depositions set- 
ting forth the circumstances of the case that the said deficiency was 
occasioned by unavoidable accident, or was lost in actual service, with- 
out any fault on his part; and in case of damage he shall also be sub- 
ject to charge for the damage actually sustained, unless he shall show, 
in like manner, to the satisfaction of the Secretary of War, that due 
care and attention were given to the preservation of said supplies and 
that the damage did not result from neglect. 

Sec. 4. That the better to enable the Quartermaster's Department to 
carry into effect the provisions of this act there be appointed two addi- 
tional quartermasters and ten assistant quartermasters, to be taken 
from the line of the Army, who shall have the same rank and compen- 
sation as are provided for like grades by the act entitled "An act to 
reduce and fix the military peace establishment of the United States," 
approved the second day of March, one thousand eight hundred and 
twenty -one: Provided, That assistant quartermasters be entitled, also, 
to receive the allowance of forage heretofore authorized by law to 
regimental and battalion quartermasters. 

Sec. 5. That each officer appointed under this act shall, before he 
enters upon his duties, give bond, with sufficient surety, to be approved 
by the Secretary of War, in such sum as the President shall direct, 
with condition for the faithful performance of the duties of his office. 

Act of March 2, 1827 {4, Stats., 238). 

AN ACT amendatory of the act regulating the Post-OfRce Department. 
* * * 

Sec. 4. That the . . . Quartermaster-General . . . be 
authorized to frank and to receive letters and packets by post free of 
postage . 



Act of July J,., 1836 {5 Stats., 117). 

AN ACT authorizing the apj)ointment of additional i)aymasters, and for :)ther 

purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 5. That during the absence of the Quartermaster-General 
. the President be authorized to empower some officer of the 
department . . . whose chief is absent to take charge thereof, 
and to perform the duties of Quartermaster-General . . . during 
such absence: Provided, That no additional compensation be allowed 
therefor. 



206 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 
Act of July 5, 1838 (5 StaU., '256). 

AN ACT to increase the present military establisliiuent of tlie United Staten, and for 

other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 9. That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, 
authorized, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to add 
to the Qiiartermaster\s Department not exceeding two assistant 
quartermasters-general with the rank of colonel, two deputy quarter- 
masters-general with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and eight assistant 
quartermasters with the rank of captain; that the assistant quarter- 
masters now in service shall have the same rank as is provided by this 
act for those hereby authorized; and that the pay and emoluments of 
the officers of the Quartermaster's Department shall be the same as are 
allowed to officers of similar rank in the regiment of dragoons: Pro- 
vided., That all appointments in the Quartermaster's Department shall 
be made from the Army, Jind when officers taken for such appoint- 
ments hold rank in the line they shall thereupon relinquish said rank 
and be separated from the line of the Army, and that promotion in 
said department shall take place as in regiments and corps. 

Sec. 10. That the Quartermaster-General be, and he is hereby, 
authorized from time to tiuMi to employ as man}^ forage mastei's and 
wagon masters as he may deem necessary for the service, not exceed- 
ing twenty in the whole, who shall be entitled to' receive each forty 
dollars per month and three rations per day, and forage for one horse; 
and neither of whom shall be interested or concerned, directly or indi- 
rectly, in any wagon or other means of transport employed by the 
United States, nor in the purchase or sale of any property procured 
for or belonging to the United States, except as an agent for the 
United States. 



Act of July 7, 1838 (5 Stats., 308). 

AN ACT supplementary to an act entitled "An act to increase the present military 
establishment of the United States, and for other purjjoses," approved July fifth, 
eighteen hundred and thirty-eight. 

That the act to which this is a supplement shall ])c, and the same 
hereby is, explained, limited, and moditied as follows: 

* * * 

Third. That so much of said act as requires assistant quartermasters 
to be separated from the line shall be, and the same is hereby, repealed. 



jixjt (f August 23, 184.2 {5 Stats., 512). 

AN ACT reHi)ec,ting tlie organization of the Army, and for other purposes. 
* x * 

Sec. 3. That the office of commissary-general of purchases, some- 
times called commissary of purchases, shall I )e, and thesameis hereb}^, 
abolished, and the duties thereof shall licreafter be performed by the 
officers of the Quartermaster's Department, with such of the officers 
and clerks now attached to the purchasing department as shall be 



THE QUAKTERMASTER's DEPARTMENT. 207 

authorized by- the Secretary of War, and under such regulations as 
shall he prescribed hj the said Secretary, under the sanction of the 
President of the United States. 



Act of June IS, IHIfi {9 Stats., 17). 

AN ACT supplemental to an act entitled "An act providing for the prosecution of 
the existing war between the United States and the Republic of Mexico," and for 
other purposes. 

* * -X- 

Sec. 5. That when volunteers or militia are called into the service 
of the United States, in such numbers that the officers of the Quarter- 
master , . . departments, authorized by law, bo not sufficient to 
provide for supplying, quartering, transporting . . . them . . . 
it shall be lawful for the President to appoint, with the advice and con- 
sent of the Senate, as many additional officers of said departments as 
the service may require, not exceeding one quartermaster . . . for 
each brigade, with the rank of major, and one assistant quartermaster 
with the rank of captain; . . . the said quartermasters, . . . 
assistant quartermasters, ... to give bonds, with good and suf- 
ficient sureties, for the faithful performance of their duties; and they 
. . . to perform such duties as the President shall direct: Provided, 
That the said officers shall l)e allowed the same pay and emoluments 
as are now allowed to officers of the same descriptions and grades in 
those departments, . . . that they be subject to the rules and Arti- 
cles of War, and continue in service only so long as their services shall 
be required in connection with the militia and volunteers. 

* * * 

Sec. 7. That promotion in the Quartermaster's Department to the 
rank of major shall hereafter be made from the captains of the 
Army. . . . 



Act ofFehruary 11, 181^7 {9 Stats., 123). 

AN ACT to raise for a limited time an additional military force, and for other 

purposes. 



Sec. 10. That it shall and ma}^ be lawful for the President, by and 
with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint, from the officers 
of the Army, foui- quartermasters of the rank of major, and ten assist- 
ant quartermasters Avith the rank of captain. 

Act (jf March 3, 181^7 [9 Stats., 184). 

AN ACT making provision for an additional number of general officers, and for 

other purposes. 



Sec. 20. That the provisions of the sixth section of the act entitled 
"An act respecting the organization of the Army," etc., approved 
August twenty-third, one thousand eight hundred and forty-two, which 



208 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

allows additional rations to certain officers of the Army, be, and the 
same are hereby, so extended as to embrace the Quartermaster-General 
. . . of the Army from the date of the act. 

* * * 

Juhi 10, 184S {9-£4f)) ■ — Provisions of pension laws construed to apply to enlisted 
men in the several corps of the Army. 

Aef of July 19, 181^8 (9 Stats., 2P). 

AN ACT to amend an ac-t entitled "An act supplemental to an act entitled 'An act 
providing for the prosecution of the existing war between the United States and 
the Republic of Mexico, ' ' ' and for other purposes. 

* * -x- 

Sec. 3. That so much of said act passed on the eleventh February, 
one thousand eight hundred and forty-seven, as requires the discharge 
at the close of the war with Mexico of ... ; four quartermasters 
and ten assistant quartermasters, as authorized by the 10th section of 
said act; . . . be, and the same is hereby, repealed: Provided, 
That no vacancy happening under the provisions so repealed shall be 
filled up until further authorized hy law: . 

September 28, 1850 {9-504)- — Moneys received from the sale of military stores and 
other supplies exempted from operation of act of March 8, 1849, requiring certain 
moneys to be paid into the Treasury without abatement or reduction. 

Act of March 3, 1851 {9 Stats., 595). 

AN ACT to found a military asylum for the relief and support of invalid and dis- 
abled soldiers of the Armv of the United States. 



Sec. 2. That . . . the Quartermaster-General . . . shall 
be ex officio commissioners of the same. 



Act of March 3, 1857 {11 Stats., WO). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the supi)ort of the Army for the year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and fifty-eight. 

* * * 

Sec. 2. That there shall be added to the Quartermaster's Department 
of the Army live military storekeepers, who shall give the bond and 
security required by the existing law; and they and all other military 
storekeepers shall have in kind, and in kind only, the fuel and quarters 
of first lieutenant of the Army. 

* * * 

March 3, 1859 {11-4-U). — Board of commissioners of tlie Soldiers' Home reduced; 
Quartermaster-General no longer a meml^er thereof. 

Act of June 23, 1860 {P2 StaU., 91). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial expenses 
of Government for the year ending the thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and 

sixtv-one. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. That all purchases and contracts for supplies or services in 
any of the departments of the Government, (except for personal serv- 
ices, when the public exigencies do not rccpiire the immediate delivery 



THE QUARTERMASTEE's DEPARTMENT. 209 

of articles or performance of the service, shall be made by advertising", 
a sufficient time previously, for proposals respecting- the same. When 
innnediate delivery or performance is required by the public exigency, 
the articles or service required may be procured by open purchase or 
contract at the places and in the manner in which such articles are 
usually bought and sold or such services engaged between individuals. 
No contract or purchase shall hereafter be made unless the same be 
authorized b}" law or be under an appropriation adequate to its fullil- 
ment, except in the War and Navy Departments, for clothing, subsist- 
ence, forage, fuel, quarters, or transportation, which, however, shall 
not exceed the necessities of the current year. No . . . military 
supplies whatever which arc of a patented invention shall be purchased, 
nor the right of using or applying any patented invention, unless 
the same shall be authorized by law and the appropriation therefor 
explicitly set forth that it is for such patented invention. 



Act of FAruary 21, 1861 {m Stats., ip). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the naval service for the year ending the thir- 
tieth of June, eighteen hundred and sixty-two. 
* -» -X- 

Sec. 6. That the third section of the act entitled ''An act making 
appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial expenses of 
the Government for the year ending the thirtieth of June, eighteen 
hundred and sixty-one," approved June twenty-three, eighteen hun- 
dred and sixty, be, and the same is hereby, repealed, except so far as 
the said section prohibits the purchase of patented lirearms, as to which 
the said section shall still be in force. 



Act of March '2, 1861 {1'2 Stats., 21.'^). 

AN ACT making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for 
the year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and sixty-two. 

* * * 

Sec. 10. That all purchases and contracts for supplies or services in 
an}' of the departments of the Government, except for personal serv- 
ices, when the public exigencies do not require the innnediate delivery 
of the article or articles, or performance of the service, shall be made 
by advertising a sufficient time previously for proposals respecting the 
same. When immediate delivery or performance is required hj the 
public exigency, the articles or service required may be procured by 
open purchase or contract at the places and in the manner in which such 
articles are usually bought and sold, or such services engaged between 
individuals. No contract or ])urchasc shall hereafter be made, unless 
the same be authorized by law or be under an appropriation adequate 
to its fultilment, except in the War . . . Departments, for cloth- 
ing, sul)sist(Micc, forage, fuel, quarters, or transportation which, how- 
ever, shall not exceed the necessities of the current year. And the 
third section of the act entitled '"An act making appropriations for 
the legislative, executive, and judicial expenses of the Governinent for 
the year ending the thirtieth [twenty-third] of June, eighteen hundred 
and sixty-one," shall be, and the same is hereby, repealed. 

S. Doc. 229 14 



210 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Act of July 22, 1861 {12 Stats., 268). 

AN ACT to authorize the employment of vokinteers to aid in enforcing the laws and 
protecting public property. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. . . . Each brigade . . . shall have . . . one 
assistant quartermaster. 

* * * 

Act of Aug%ist 3, 1861 {12 Stats., 287). 

AN ACT providing for the better organization of the military (>.stablishment. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. . . . And there shall be added to the Quartermaster's 
Department one colonel, two lieutenant-colonels, four majors, and 
twenty captains, ^vdth the rank, pay, and allowances of officers of 
cavalry; and whenever any army captain of the Quartermaster's 
Department shall have served fourteen years' continuoiis service, he 
shall be promoted to the rank of major; and that there shall be added 
to the Quartermaster's Department as many master wagoners, with 
the rank, pay, and allowances of sergeants of cavahy, and as many 
wagoners, with the pay and allowances of corporals of cavalry, as 
the military service, in the judgment of the President, ma}" render 
necessary. 

* * * 

Act of January 31, 1862 {12 Stats., 334). 

AN ACT to authorize the President of the United States in certain cases to take 
possession of railroad and telegraph lines, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 4. That the transportation of troops, munitions of war, equip- 
ment, military property, and stores throughout the United States 
shall be under the immediate control and supervision of the Secretary 
of War and such agents as he may appoint; and all rides, regulations, 
articles, usages, and laws in conflict with this provision are herebj- 

annulled. 

* * * 

Februarif 12, 1862 {12-338) . — Three competent naval officers may be temporarily 
detailed for inspecting transport vessels-, etc. , for the service of the War Department. 

Act of July o, 1862 {12 Stats., fiOB). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending the 
thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, and additional appropriations 
for the year ending thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, and for 
other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 8. That the President of the United States be, and he hereby 
is, authorized, by and with the consent of the Senate, to appoint as 
man}" military storckeepei's in the Quartermaster's Department of the 
Army as the exigencies of the service may require: Proinded, The 
whole number of military storekeepers in that department shall not 
exceed twelve. 



THE QUAETERMASTER's DEPARTMENT. 211 

July 12, 1862 {12-624)- — Extra clothing to be furnished to all sick, wounded, or 
other soldiers who may have lost the same by the casualties of war. 

July 17, 1862 (ii'-5.9^).— Contractors for military supplies guilty of fraud to be sub- 
ject to the rules and regulations governing the Army. This provision was extended 
by section 7 of the act of July 7, 1864 (13-394), to apply to their agents and to all 
inspectors of military sujiplies. 

Act of July 17, 186'2 {12 Stats., 597). 

AN ACT to amend the act calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, 
suppress insurrections, and repel invasions, approved February twenty-eighth, 
seventeen hundred and ninety-five, and the acts amendatory thereof, and for other 
purposes. 

•A- -X- * 

Sec. to. That each army corps shall have . . . one quarter- 
master . . . who shall boar . . . the rank of lieutenant- 
colonel, and who shall be assigned from the Army or volunteer force 
bv the President. 



Act of June 25, I86J4, {13 Stats., 181). 
AN ACT to provide for the examination of certain officers oi the Army. 

Thateveryquartermaster and assistant quartermaster , . . shall, 
as soon as practicable, be ordered to appear for examination as to his 
c[ualilications before a board to be composed of three stall' officers of 
the corps to which he belongs, of recog'nized merit and fitness, of whom 
two at least shall be officers of volunteers, which board shall make a 
careful examination as to the qualification of all officers who may 
appear before them in pursuance of this act, and shall also keep min- 
utes and make a full and true record of the examination in each case. 
^Vnd all members of such boards of examination shall, before proceed- 
ing to the discharge of their duties as herein provided, swear or affirm 
that they will conduct all examinations with impartiality and with a 
sole view to the qualifications of the person or persons to be examined, 
and that they will not divulge the vote of any member upon the exam- 
ination of any officer who may appear before them. 

Sec. 2. That such boards of examination shall be convened, under 
the direction of the Secretary of War, by the Quartermaster-General 
at convenient places; and general rules of examination and a 
standard of qualification shall be prescribed by said officers, subject to 
the a[)proval of the Secretar}' of War, and shall be published in general 
orders. 

Sec. 3. That after such general order shall have been published for 
sixty days if an}' officer who shall then be ordered before a board of 
examiners, under the provisions of this act, shall fail for thirty days 
after receiving such special order to report himself as directed, all his 
pay and allowances shall cease and be forfeited luitil he does appearand 
report for examination; and if he shall still thereafter fail for a further 
])eriod of thirty days so to appear he shall thereupon l)e dropped 
from i\\v rolls of the Army: Provided, hoioever. That if such failure to 
appear and report shall have l)een occasioned by wounds or sickness, 
or other physical disability, then there shall be no forfeiture of pay 
until thirty days after such disability has been removed; but if in sixty 
days aftin- the disability is removed the officer shall not report himself 
he shall then be dropped from the rolls as in other cases. 



212 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Sec. 4:. That if the board of examination shall report that any officer 
does not possess the requisite business qualifications they shall forward 
the record of the examination of such officer to the head of the bureau 
to which he ma}' belong, and if the head of such bureau shall approve 
the finding and report of the board he shall forward the same, through 
the Secretary of War, to the President of the United States, and if the 
President shall confirm the same the officer so failing in his examina- 
tion shall, if commissioned, be dismissed from the seryice with one 
month\s pay, and if not yet commissioned, his appointment shall be 
reyoked. And if the board shall report that any officer fails to pass a 
satisfactory examination by reason of intemperance, gambling, or other 
immorality, and if the head of the bureau shall approye the finding and 
report of the board, and the same being communicated, as before pro- 
vided, to the President and confirmed by him, then such officer shall 
be dismissed from the seryice without pay, and shall not be permitted 
to reenter the seryice as an officer: Provided^ That such dismissal shall 
not relieye him from liability under existing laws for any offense he 
may haye committed. 

Sec. 5. That the boards of examination shall forward all their rec- 
ords of examination to the heads of the bureau to which they appertain, 
and such records shall be filed in the proper bureau with a suitable 
index; and any officer who may desire it shall l)e entitled to receive a 
copy of the record in his own case upon paying the cost of copying 
the same. 

Act of July ^, 186 J^ {13 Stats., 381). 

AN ACT to restrict the jurisdiction of the Court of C-lainis and to provide for the 
payment of certain demands for quartermaster's stores and subsistence supplies 
furnished to tlie Army of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 2. I'hat all claims of loyal citizens in States not in rebellion for 
quartermaster's stores actually furnished to the Army of the United 
States and receipted for l)y the proper officer recei\'ing the same, or 
which may have been taken l)y such officers without gi^'ing such receipt, 
may be submitted to the Quartermaster-General of the United States, 
accompanied with such proofs as each claimant can present of the facts 
in his case; and it shall be the duty of the Quartermaster -General to 
cause such claim to be examined, and if conyinced that it is just and 
of the loyalty of the claimant, and that the stores haye 1)een actually 
receiyed or taken for the use of and used by said Army, then to report 
each case to the Third Auditor of the Treasur}^ with a recommendation 
for settlement. 



AH of Jul II .J, /-SY;// [13 Sfat.s., 394). 
AN ACT to provide for tlie l^etter organization of tlie Quartermaster's Department. 

That there shall be established in the office of the Quartermaster- 
General of the Army, to exist during the present rel)ellion and one 
year thereafter, the following diyisions, each of which shall be placed in 
the charge of a competent officer of the Quartermaster"'s Department, 
to be assigned to such duty by the Secretary of War, who shall, under 



THE quartermaster's DEPARTMENT. 213 

siu'li rules ii,s may be proscribed by the Quarteruuister-General, with 
the apprt)\al of the Secretary of Wai", transact the business of such 
division as hereinafter provided, to wit: 

The tirst division shall have charge of the purchase, procurement, 
and disposition of horses and nuiles for cavahy, artillery, wagon and 
ambulance trains, and all other purposes for which horses or mules 
may be procured for the armies of the United States. 

The second division shall have charge of the purchase, procurement, 
issue, and disposition of cloth and clothing, knapsacks, camp and gar- 
rison equipage, and all accoutrements of the soldier which are provided 
by the Quartermaster's Department. 

The third division shall have charge of the purchase, charter, hire, 
and maintenance of all vessels to be used in the transportation of the 
Army, and of prisoners of war, and of their supplies, on the ocean, and 
the bays and sounds coimected therewith, and upon the northern and 
northwestern lakes, including all vessels propelled by steam or other- 
wise, owned or employed l)y the War Department, excepting riv^er 
steam vessels and l)arges upon the Western rivers. 

The fourth division shall have charge of the purchase, charter, hire, 
maintenance, and procurement of all transportation for the Army, and 
its supplies by land and upon the Western rivers (other than transpor- 
tation l)y animal power in the field and at camps, garrisons, posts, 
depots, and stations), including all railroad and telegraph lines oper- 
ated by the United States for military purposes, and of all steam rams 
and gunboats owned or employed by the War Department upon the 
^Vestern rivers, until other disposition shall be made of them by com- 
petent authorit3\ 

The fifth division shall have charge of the purchase, procurement, 
issue, and disposition of forage and straw for the Army. 

The sixth division shall have charge of the erection, procurement, 
maintenance, disposition, and so forth, of all barracks, hospital build- 
ings, storehouses, stables, bridges (other than railroad bridges), 
wharves, and other structures composed in whole or in part of lum- 
ber, and of all lumber, nails, and hardware for building purposes; and 
of the hire and commutation of quarters for officers, the hire of quar- 
ters for troops, the hire of grounds for cantonments, or other military 
purposes, and the repair and care of all buildings and other structures 
herein mentioned, and of all grounds owned, hired, or occupied for 
military purposes, except such as are lawfully under the charge of 
other bureaus of the War Department; and of extra pay to soldiers 
employed in erecting barracks, or other fatigue duty, under the acts 
of MaVch second, eighteen hundred and nineteen, and August fourth, 
eighteen hundred and tiftv-four. 

The seventh division shall have charge of the purchase, procure- 
ment, issue, and disposition of all wagons, ambulances, travelling 
forges, and harness (except such as are furnished by the Ordnance 
Department), and of all hardware, except as hereinbefore provided, 
and of all fuel for officers and enlisted men, camps, garrisons, hospitals, 
posts, storehouses, offices, public transports, steam rams, and army 
gunboats, and of all transportation by animal power in the field, at 
camps, garrisons, posts, depots, and stations, and of the construction 
and repair of roads other than railroads; and of the compensation of 
wagon and forage masters, and of clerks to officers of the Quarter- 
master's Department; and of the purchase of heating and cooking 



214 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF TJ. S. ARMY. 

stoves; and of the expenses of courts -martial, military commissions, 
and courts of inquiry; and of mileage and allowances to officers for 
the transportation of themselves and their baggage when travelling 
upon duty without troops, escorts, or supplies, and of supplies for 
prisoners of war and such I'ef ugees as the Secretary of War may direct 
to be temporarily provided for; and of the purchase of stationer}^, 
blanks, and blank books for the Quartermaster's Department; and of 
the printing of the division and department orders and reports; and of 
the proper and authorized expenses for the movements and operations 
of an army not expressly assigned to any other division or department. 

The eighth division shall have charge of all inspections of the Quar- 
termaster's Department, and of all reports made by officers assigned 
to inspection duty, analyzing and preserving the reports as received, 
and communicating through the Quartermaster-General to the chiefs 
of the proper divisions such portions of these reports as may be neces- 
sary for their information and use: Prorided^ That the officers assigned 
to inspection duty shall have power not only to report and to point 
out any errors or abuses which they may discover in the practical 
operations of the Quartermaster's Department, but to give, by order 
of the Quartermaster-General, the orders which maj^ be immediately 
necessary to correct and prevent a continuance of such abuse or errors: 
Promdtd further^ That all such orders shall be immediately reported 
to the chief of the inspection division for the approval or otherwise of 
the Quartermaster-General. 

The ninth division shall have charge of all correspondence, returns, 
reports, and records received, filed, and preserved in the office of the 
Quartermaster-Genei'al, and of the transmission thereof to the several 
other divisions of this office, and departments of the Government. 

Sec. 2. That the heads of the several divisions above mentioned 
shall, under the direction of the Quartermaster-General, from time to 
time, advertise for proposals for the supplies necessary for the move- 
ments and operations of the several armies, posts, detachments, garri- 
sons, hospitals, and for other military purposes, in newspapers having 
general circulation in those parts of the country where such supplies 
can be most advantageously furnished, having regard also to the places 
where such supplies are to be delivered and used; and all such sup- 
plies, so purchased and contracted for, shall be subject to careful 
inspection, and all clothing and camp and garrison equipage shall be 
subject to a double inspection, first, as to the quality of the material, 
and, second, as to the kind and character of the workmanship, which 
inspection shall in all cases ])e performed by a competent inspector, 
with suitable assistants, who shall have had ample experience in the 
inspection of cloth, clothing, knapsacks, camp and garrison equipage; 
and all payments for supplies so purchased shall be made under the 
direction of the officers in charge of the several divisions above men- 
tioned, upon receipts or certificates from the officers inspecting and 
receiving such supplies, prepared in such form and attested in such 
manner as may be prescribed l)y the Quartermaster-General. 

Sec. 3. That it shall be the duty of the Quartermaster-General to 
establish depots, from time to time, at places convenient to the prin- 
cipal armies in the field, for receiving and distributing the supplies 
necessary for such armies, and for the detachments, posts, and hos- 
pitals most accessible to such depots; and the business of inspecting, 
weighing, measuring, and receiving supplies for such armies, detach- 



THE quartermaster's DEPARTMENT. 215 

ments, posts, and hospitals, and of. giving- receipts or certificates there- 
for to the persons furnishing such supplies, shall be carried on as far as 
practicable at such depots; but the Quartermaster-General, or the heads 
of the several divisions above mentioned, may cause such supplies to 
be sent from the place of purchase directly to the quartermasters of 
the commands for whose use they are procured, in any cases where it 
may be more economical or advantageous so to do; and in cases where 
horses, mules, clothing, or camp and garrison equipage may be so sent, 
suitable and competent inspectors shall be sent to examine the same 
before they shall be issued and receipted for. 

Sec. -i. That when an emergency shall exist requiring the immedi- 
ate procurement of supplies for the necessary movements and opera- 
tions of an army or detachment, and when such supplies can not be 
procured from any established depot of the Quartermaster's Depart 
ment, or from the head of the division charged with the duty of fur- 
nishing such supplies, within the required time, then it shall be lawful 
for the commanding officer of such army or detachment to order the 
chief quartermaster of such army or detachment to procure such sup- 
plies during the continuance of such emergency, but no longer, in the 
most expeditious manner, and without advertisement; and it shall be 
the duty of such quartermaster to obey such order; and his accounts 
of the disbursement of moneys for such supplies shall be accompanied 
by the order of the commanding officer as aforesaid, or a certified 
copy of the same, and also by a statement of the particular facts and 
circumstances, with their dates, constituting such emergency. 

Sec. 5. That it shall be the duty of the Quartermaster- General, imme- 
diateh" after the passage of this act, and at least once in every month 
thereafter, to require from the principal quartermasters of the several 
military departments and depots approximate statements of the aggre- 
gate amounts of supplies on hand, and estimates of the additional 
amounts required for the service for the ensuing month, stating at 
what places such supplies will be required, and what amounts are 
legally contracted for but not yet delivered. And it shall be the duty 
of the heads of the several divisions above mentioned to cause to be 
made purchases or contracts for the supplies which the Quartermaster- 
General may estimate to be necessary in accordance with law, and all 
quartermasters shall forthwith report to the Quartermaster- General, 
to be referred to the heads of the several divisions above mentioned, 
all contracts not yet fulfilled which the}^ may have executed on l)ehalf 
of the United States, and all proposals which they may have received 
in answer to advertisements for future supplies, and shall hereafter 
regularly report to the Quartermaster-General copies of all contracts 
made and all proposals receiv^ed for supplies of any kind to be fur- 
nished. And if any quartermaster shall neglect or refuse, for the 
space of one month, to I'eport to the Quartermaster-General any such 
contract or proposal, such neglect or refusal shall be deemed prima 
facie evidence of fraud, and the pay of such quartermaster shall be 
stopped imtil he shall have made a satisfactory explanation to the Secre- 
taiy of War of such neglect or refusal. 

Sec. G. That all inspectors of horses, mules, clothing, fuel, forage, 
lumber, hired transports, and other supplies of tlie Quartermaster's 
Department shall 1)0 sworn (or affirmed) to perform their duties in a 
faithful and impartial manner, and shall for any corruption, wilful 
neglect, or fraud in the performance of ttieir duties be liable to pun- 



216 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

ishment by line and imprisonment, by sentence of court-martial or 
military commission; and if any contractor or person furnishino- such 
supplies or transportation shall give or offer to give to any inspector 
of such supplies or transportation, or to any other person for his use, 
directly or indirectly, any money or other valuable consideration, such 
person giving or offering to give such money or other valuable con- 
sideration shall forfeit to the United* States the full amount of his 
contract or contracts with the United States, and the name and offence 
of such person shall be published in general orders, and also in one 
newspaper of general circulation nearest to his place of residence. 

Sec. 7. That the provisions of the sixteenth section of the act 
entitled "An act to define the pay and emoluments of certain officers 
of the Army, and for other purposes," approved July seventeen, eight- 
een hundred and sixty-two, shall apply to all persons engaged in 
executing the contracts therein referred to, whether as agents of such 
contractors or as claiming to be assignees thereof, or otherwise, and 
to all inspectors employed by the United States for the inspection of 
subsistence, clothing, arms, ammunition, munitions of war, or other 
description of supplies for the Arni}^ or Navy of the United States: 
Providtd, That any person arrested to answer charges for a violation 
of the provisions of this act, or of the act to which it is in addition, 
shall be admitted to bail for his appearance to answer the charges made 
against him before any court-martial constituted to tr}" him, in such 
sums and with such sureties as shall be designated and approved by 
the judge of the district court of the district in which the arrest is 
made or the offence is charged to have been committed, or any com- 
missioner appointed by such court. 

Sec. 8. That if any contractor or person furnishing supplies or 
transportation shall give, or offer to give, or cause to be given, to any 
ofiicer or employee of the Quartermaster's Department having charge 
of the receipt or disposition of the supplies or transportation furnished 
by him, or in any way connected therewith, any money or other valu- 
able consideration, directly or indirectly, all contracts and charters 
with such person shall, at the option of the Secretary of War, be null 
and void; and if any ofiicer or employee of the Quartermaster's 
Department shall knowingly accept any such money or other Aakialffe 
consideration from such person, he shall ])e deemed guilty of mal- 
feasance, and shall be punished by fine and imprisonment, or both, as 
a court-martial or militar}" commission may direct. 

Sec. 9. That whenever it shall become necessary to purchase any 
steam or sailing vessel for the use of the Quartermaster's Department, 
the same shall be first inspected by one or more competent naval 
officers detailed in accordance with the provisions of the "act author- 
izing the detail of naval officers for the service of the AVar Depart- 
ment," approved February twelve, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, 
and all steam vessels shall ])e inspected by an ofiicer skilled in the con- 
struction and operation of steam machinery, in addition to the other 
usual inspection of such vessels: Provided., That the provisions of this 
section shall not apply to steamboats or other vessels in military serv- 
ice on the western rivers; but such river steamboats or vessels shall 
be so inspected by competent builders, to be designated for that 
purpose. 

Sec. 10. That the officers placed in charge of the several divisions 
provided for by the first section of this act shall, during the time they 
remain in such charge, each have the rank, pay, and emoluments of a 



THE quartermaster's DEPARTMENT. 217 

colonel in tlie Qiuirterma.ster's Department: Proidded^ That the Quar- 
termaster-General ma}', with the approval of the Secretary' of War, 
from time to time, and according* to the necessities of the public service, 
change the distribution of duties among them; and all such changes 
shall be forthwith published in general orders of the War Department, 

Sec. 11. That during the continuance of the present rebellion the 
Secretary of War may assign to duty, as inspectors of the Quarter- 
master's Department, six officers, to be selected from the regular and 
volunteer officers of that staff corps, who have served not less than one 
year, who shall have, while so assigned and acting, the temporary 
rank, pa}", and emoluments of colonels of the Quartermaster's Depart- 
ment; and also, when in his judgment it is necessary, ma}^ assign to 
each army in the field, consisting of more than one army corps, and to 
each military department, and to each principal depot, not exceeding 
ten in number at anyone time, of the Quartermaster's Department^ an 
officer to act as chief or senior quartermaster of said army, military 
department, or depot, who shall have while so assigned the temporary 
rank, pay. and emoluments of a colonel of the Quartermaster's Depart- 
ment; and also to assign to each division of two or more brigades a 
quartermaster, as division quartermaster, who, while so assigned and 
acting, shall have the temporar}" rank, pa}", and emoluments of a major 
of the Quartermaster's Department: Provided^ That when any of said 
officers is relieved from such duty, his temporary rank, pay, and 
emoluments shall cease, and he shall return to his lineal rank in the 
department: And j^^'ov id (d further. That when within the limits of 
any military department there shall be not more than one army corps, 
then the chief quartermaster of the army corps shall perform also the 
duties of the department quartermaster. 

Sec. 12. That at least two-thirds of all officers of each grade or 
assigned rank provided for under the provisions of this act shall be 
selected from among quartermasters of the volunteer service. 
* * * 

March 3, 1865 {lS-507) . — Fuel may be issued to destitute refugees and freedmen. 

Resolution of March 3, 1865 {13 Stats., 571). 

A RESOLUTIOX to authorize and direct an inventory of articles in the quarter- 
masters' depots of the United States and in the possession of the naval storekeepers 
of the United States. 

That the Secretary of War be, and is hereby, directed to cause a 
strict inspection to be made of the Quartermaster's Department as 
soon as practicable after the passage of this resolution, and a com- 
parison be made between the reports of the officers in charge of the 
quartermasters' depots at New York, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Saint 
Louis, and Louisville, and the articles on hand. 



Act of July 13, 1866 {U Stats., 90). 

AN ACT making appropriatioiis for the support of the Army for the year ending 
thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 1. That the Quartermaster's Department shall in all cases, in 
obtaining supplies for the military service, state in advertisements 
for bids for contracts that a preference shall be given to articles of 



218 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

domestic production and manufacture, conditions of price and quality 
being equal, and that such preference shall be given to articles of 
American production and uianufacture produced on the Pacific coast 
to the extent of the consumption required by the public service there; 
and in advertising for army supplies the Quartermaster's Department 
shall require all articles which are to be used in the States and Terri- 
tories of the Pacific coast to be delivered and inspected at points desig- 
nated in those States and Territories, and the advertisements for such 
supplies shall be published in newspapers of the cities of San Francisco, 
in California, and Portland, in Oregon. 

* , * * 

July 14, 1866 {14-364). — Condemned clothing and surplus camp and garrison 
equipage may be issued to families rendered homeless and destitute by recent fire in 
Portland, Me. Surplus bedding and hospital furniture may be issued (same as 
above) . 

July 16, 1866 {14-173). — Transportation may be furnished destitute refugees and 
freedmen. 

J'uhj 28, 1866 {14-310). — This act makes an appropriation f(jr the establishment of 
natiorial cemeteries and the purchase of sites for the same. 

Act of July 28, 1866 {IJ^ Stats., SW). 

AN ACT to increase and tix the military peace establishment of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 7. . . . and the President of the United States is hereby 
authorized to appoint for each national cemetery now established, or 
that may be established, a superintendent, with the rank, pay, and 
emoluments of an ordnance sergeant, to ])e selected from among the 
noncouuuissioned officers of the Regular Army and volunteer forces 
who have received certificates of merit for services during the war. 

* * * 

Sec. 13. That the Quartermaster's Department of the Army shall 
hereafter consist of one Quartermaster-General, with the rank, pay, 
and emoluments of a brigadier-general; six assistant quartermasters- 
general, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of colonels of cavalry; 
ten deputy quartermasters-general, with the rank, pay, and emolu- 
ments of lieutenant-colonels of cavalry; fifteen quartermasters, with 
the rank, pay, and emoluments of majors of cavalry, and forty-four 
assistant quartermasters, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of cap- 
tains of cavalry; and the vacancies herel)y created in the grade of 
assistant quartermaster shall be filled by selection from among the 
persons who have rendered meritorious services as assistant quarter- 
masters of volunteers during two years of the war; but after the first 
appointments made under the provisions of this section, as vacancies 
may occur in the grades of major and captain in this department, no 
appointments to fill the same shall be made until the number of majors 
shall 1)6 reduced to twelve and the number of captains to thirty, and 
thereafter the number of ofiicers in each of said grades shall continue 
to conform to said reduced numbers. 

Sec. 11:. That the number of military storekeepers in the Quarter- 
masters Department shall hereafter be as many as shall l)e required, 
not exceeding sixteen, who shall have the rank, pay, and emoluments 
of captains of infantry. 

Sec. 15. That the provisions of the act for the better organization 
of the Quartermaster's Department, approved July fourth, eighteen 



THE QUAETERMASTER's DEPARTMENT. 219 

liuiuh't'd and sixty-four, shall continue in force until the first day of 
January, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, and no longer. 

* * * 

Sec. 23. That the . . . quartermaster-general . . . shall 
hereafter be appointed by the selection from the corps to which they 
belong, and no person shall be appointed to any vacancy created by 
this act in the . . . quartermaster's departments until he shall 
liave passed the examination now required by law. 

* * * 

Jul}/ i^S, 1866 (14-343). — Transportation to be furnished to discharged soldiers to 
wlioni artitioial limbs are furnislied by the Government. 

Act of February '2'2, 1867 {11^ Stats., 399). 
AN ACT to establish and protect national cemeteries. 

That in the arrangements of the national cemeteries, established for 
the burial of deceased soldiers and sailors, the Secretary of War is 
hereby directed to have the same enclosed with a good and substantial 
stone or iron fence; and to cause each grave to be marked with a small 
headstone or block, witli the number of grave inscribed thereon, cor- 
responding with the number opposite to the name of the party, in a 
register of burials to be kept at each cemetery and at the office of the 
Quartermaster-General, which shall set forth the name, rank, com- 
pany, regiment, and date of death of the officer or soldier; or, if 
unknown, it shall be so recorded. 



Act ofMarcli 2, 1867 {U Stats., J^22). 

AN ACT to provitle for a temporary increase of the pay of officers in the Army of 
the United States and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. T. That (excepting the ordnance storekeeper and paymaster at 
the Spriugtield Armory, who has the rank, pay, and allowances of a 
major of cavalry) all storekeepers of the Army shall hereafter have 
the rank, pay, and allowances of captains of cavalry. 

* * * 

March £.?, 1S67 [15-1) . — One complete suit of clothing to be issued to each invalid 
soldier in any of the Soldiers' Homes. By the act of January 23, 1873 (17-417), this 
benelit was extended so as to give a suit of clothes or its equivalent in clothing to 
each man who has been or was in a national asylum. 

M<nrh 2..\ 18G7 {15-31). — Barracks, buildings, etc., at Camp Chase, Ohio, to be 
turned over to board of managers of the national asylum; surplus clothing and 
quartermaster stores may be sold to said Ijoard at first prices. 

M(n'f}i 12, 1S68 {15-250). — Gratuitous issues of clothing, on the recommendation of 
the Surgeon-General, may be made to soldiers who have had contagious diseases and 
to hospital attendants who have nursed them. 

Ajd, of Alar ch 3, 1869 {15 Stats., 315). 

AN AXir making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending 
Jmie thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy, and for other iwrposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 6. That until otherwise directed ])y law there shall be no new 
a])])ointments and no promotions ... in the Quartermaster's 
Department. 



220 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Fi'hriiarn 15, 1870 [16-65). — Necessary supplies and condeiniu-d clothing may be 
furnislied the poor and destitute of the District of Colund)ia. 

Juhl 11, 1870 {16-229). — No purchase of coal or wood to be made except on condi- 
tion that the same shall, before delivery, be inspected, weighed, or measured by an 
agent of the bureau for which purchase is made. 

My 14, 1870 (16-390). — When transferred to the General Government, the Gettys- 
burg an(l Antietani cemeteries to be cared for and maintained as national cemeteries. 

Act of July 15, 1870 {16 Stats., 315). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending 
June thirty, eighteen hundred and seventy-one, and for other purposes. 

■X- * * 

Sec, 24. . . . Provided, That fuel, quarters, and f orag^e in kind 
may be f urni.shed to officers by the Quartermaster's Department, as 
now allowed by law and regulations. . . . 

* * * 

April 20, 1871 [17-5). — Condemned clothing and bedding, not exceeding |5,000 in 
value, may be furnished to the National Freedmen's Relief Association. 

Ad of May 18, 187"2 {17 Stats., 122). 

AN AC!T making apjiropriations to supply deficiencies in the appropriations for the 
service of the Government for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hun- 
dred and seventy-two, and for former years, and for other purposes. 

■X- * * 

. . . Provided, That hereafter barracks and quarters, and all 
buildings and structures whatever of a permanent nature, shall be con- 
structed upon special authority, to be given by act of Congress, except 
when constructed l)y the troops; and no such structures whose cost 
shall exceed twenty thousand dollars shall be erected or continued in 
erection unless by such authority so specially granted. 



* 



. . . Provided, That there shall be no claim upon the United 
States for the use of any patent for the manner of or material for doing 
the same. [Preservation of clothing and camp equipage.] 



Act ofjfay 18, 1872 {17 Stats., 135). 

AN ACT to amend an act entitled "An act to establish and to protect riational ceme- 
teries," approved February twenty-second, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven. 

That the Secretary of War is hereby authorized to select the super- 
intendents of the national cemeteries from meritorious and trustworthy 
soldiers, either commissioned officers or enlisted men of the Volunteer 
or Regular Army, who have been honorably mustered out or dis- 
charged from the^ service of the United States and who may have been 
disal)led for active field service in the line of duty. 

Sec. 2. That the superintendents of the national cemeteries shall 
receive for their compensation from sixty dollars to seventy-tive dol- 
lars per month, according to the extent "^and importance of the ceme- 
teries to which they may be respectively assigned, to be determined 
by the Secretary of War; and they shall also be furnished with quar- 
ters and fuel, as now provided at the several cemeteries. 



THE quartermaster's DEPARTMENT. 221 

Act of June J, 187% {17 Stats., %U). 

AN ACT to authorize the appointment of certain officers in the Quartermaster's 

Department. 

That the President be, and hereby is, authorized to nominate, and 
b}^ and with the advice and consent of the Senate to appoint, certain 
officers of tlie Quartermaster's Department to the grade they would 
have held in said Department, respectively, had the vacancies created 
therein by the act of July twenty-e:ghth, eighteen hundred and sixty- 
six, from the rank of major to the rank of colonel, both inclusive, been 
filled by promotion by seniority: Provided, That no officer shall be 
deprived of his relative rank or reduced from his present grade by 
this flct and that the officers whoso appointments are herein authorized 
shall take rank and receive pay only from the date of their confirmation. 

Act of June 8, 1872 (17 Stats., 338). 

AN ACT to amend an act entitled "An act supplementary to an act to provide for 
furnishing artilicial limbs to disabled soldiers," approved June thirtieth, eighteen 
hundred and seventy. 

* * * 

Sec. 2. That the transportation allowed for having artificial limbs 
fitted shall be furnished by the Quartermaster-General of the Army, 
the cost of which shall be refunded from the appropriations for invalid 

pensions. 

* * * . 

June 8, 1812 {11-345). — Name of soldier and name of State, when the same are 
known, to be inscribed on each headstone. 

Act of March 3, 1873 {17 Stats., 543). 

AN ACT making ai:)proiiriations for the support of the Army for the year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-four. 

* * * 

. . . Provided, That when the new uniform is distributed to the 
troops, the clothing of the old style no longer to be issued, incapable 
of alteration, shall be sold by the Secretary of War at public auction 
after due public notice by advertisement; and the gross proceeds of 
such sales shall be cov.ered into the Treasury. 



Act of March 3, 1873 {17 Stats., 60£). 

AN ACT to provide for the care and preservation of the cemetery near the City of 
Mexico, purchased in accordance with the act of September twenty-eighth, eighteen 
lumdred and fifty. 

That the President of the United States is authorized to provide out 
of the ordinary annual appropriations for establishing and maintaining 
United States military cemeteries, for the proper care and preserva- 
tion and maintenance of the cemetery or burial ground near the City of 
Mexico, in which are intei-red the remains of officers and soldiers of 
the ITnited States, and of citizens of the United States, who fell in 
battle or died in and around said city; and that this cemetery shall be 



222 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S, ARMY. 

subject to the rules and regulations aifecting United States national 
military cemeteries within the limits of the United States, so far as 
they may, in the opinion of the President, be applicable thereto. 

April ^3, 1874 {18-34)- — Temporary issue of disused army clothing may be made 
for the relief of the sufferers by the overflow of the Lower Missis^ppi River. [By 
the act of May 13, 1874 (18-46) the authority given was to expire September 1, 1874.] 

May 28, 1874 {18-287). — Obsolete clothing to be issued to destitute people on the 
Tombigbee, Warrior, and Alabama rivers. 

Act of June 16, 187 J^ {18 Stats., 72). 

AN ACT making apjtropriations for the support of the Armj^ for the fiscal year 
ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-five, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

. . . Pr<niided, That none of the money hereby appropriated 
shall be used in the purchase of hats, uniform caps, forage caps, 
vmiform coats, uniform jackets, flannel sack coats, and unlined coats, 
which articles the Quartermaster's Department shall issue from the 
supply now on hand, known as the old pattern; and none of the arti- 
cles above enumerated shall be purchased until those now on hand are 

exhausted. 

* * -x- 

February 10, 1875 {18-314)- — Issues of disused army clothing may be made, to pre- 
vent suffering and extreme want, to all persons on the western frontier rendered des- 
titute )3v ravages of grasshoppers during the summer last past. This act to expire 
September 1, 1875. 

June 18, 1874 {18-83). — Ten thousand complete. suits of clothing to be reserved 
from surplus stock and sold to National Homes for Disabled Volunteers. 

Act of March J, 1875 {18 Stats., 338). 

AN ACT in relation to the Quartermaster's Department, fixing its status, reducing 
its numbers, and regulating appointments and promotions therein. 

That the Quartermaster's Department of the Army shall hereafter 
consist of the Quartermaster-General, with the rank, pay, and emolu- 
ments of a brigadier-general; four assistant quartermasters-general, 
with the rank, pay, and emoluments of colonels of cavalry; eight dep- 
uty quartermasters-general, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of 
lieutenant-colonels of cavalry; fourteen quartermasters, with the rank, 
pay, and emoluments of majors of cavalry; and thirty assistant quar- 
termasters, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of captains of cavalry. 

Sec. 2. That no more appointments shall be made in the grade of 
military storekeepers in the Quartermaster's Department, and this 
grade shall cease to exist as soon as the same becomes vacant by death, 
resignation, or otherwise of the present incumbents. 

Sec. 3. That no officer now in service shall be reduced in rank or 
deprived of his (;ommission by reason of any provision of this act. 

Sec. 4. That no officer shall be promoted or appointed in the Quar- 
termaster's Department in excess of the organization prescribed by 
this act, and that so much of section six of the act approved March 
third, eighteen hundred and sixty-nine, entitled ''An act making appro- 
priations for the support of the Army for the year ending Jun(^ thir- 
tieth, eighteen hundred and seventy, and for other purposes," as applied 
to the Quartermaster's Department, be, and the same is hereby, repealed. 



THE quartermaster's DEPARTMENT. 223 

Act of March 3, 1875 {18 Stats., J^5T!). 

AN ACT making apjiropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year end- 
ing June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-six, and for other purposes. 

-X- * * 

Proinded, That no part of this sum shall be paid for the 
use of any patent process for the preservation of cloth from moth or 

mildew. 

* * * 

Augitst 15, 1876 {19-203) . — Necessary transportation to have artificial limlis fitted, 
to be furnished by the Quartermaster-General. 

January 26, 1877 {19-409). — Two hundred blankets to be issued to Reform School 
in District of Columbia. 

REVISED STATUTES— 2nd edition— 1878. 

* -x- * 

Sec. 1094. The Army of the United States shall consist of — 

* -X- -X- 

A quartermaster's DEPARTMENT. 

* * - * 

Sec, 1132. The Quartermaster's Department of the Army shall con- 
sist of one Quartermaster-General, with the rank of l)rig'adier-g-eneral; 
six assistant quartermasters-general, with the rank of colonel of cav- 
alry; ten deputy c[uartermasters-general, with the rank of lieutenant- 
colonel of cavalry; twelve quartermasters, with the rank of major of 
cavalry; thirty assistant quartermasters, with the rank of captain of 
cavalry; and such number of military storekeepers, not exceeding' 
sixteen, as may be required, with the rank of captain of cavalry. 
Nothing' herein shall deprive of his office any person now holding the 
office of quartermaster with the rank of major. All appointments in 
the Quartermaster's Department shall be made from the Army. Dur- 
ing the absence of the Quartermaster-General, . . . the Presi- 
dent is authorized to empower .some officer of the Department . . . 
to perform the duties of Quartermaster-General, . . . during 
such absence. 

Sec. 1133. It shall be the duty of the officers of the Quartermaster's 
Department, under.the direction of the Secretary of War, to purchase 
and distribute to the Army all military stores and supplies, and to 
provide for and pav all incidental expenses of the military service 
which other corps are not directed to provide for and pay. 

Sec. 1134. Assistant quartermasters shall do duty as assistant com- 
missaries of subsistence when so ordered by the Secretary of War. 

Sec. 1135. The officers of the Quartermaster's Department shall 
upon the requisition of the naval or marine officer commanding" any 
detachment of seamen or marines under orders to act on shore, in 
cooperation with land troops, and during the time such detachment is 
so acting or proceeding to act, furnish the officers and seamen with 
camp equipage, together with transi)ortation for said officers, seamen, 
and marines, their baggage, provisions, and cannon, and shall furnish 
the naval officer commanding any such detachment, and his necessary 
aids, with horses, accouterments, and forage. 

Sec. 1136. Permanent barracks or quarters shall not be constructed 



224 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

unless detailed estimates shall have been previously submitted to Con- 
gress and approved by a special appropriation for the same, except 
when constructed by the troops; and no such structures, the cost of 
which shall exceed twenty thousand dollars, shall be erected unless by 
special authority of Cono-ress. It shall be the duty of all officers of the 
United States having an}^ of the title papers (property purchased or 
about to be purchased for erection of public buildings) in their posses- 
sion to furnish them forthwith to the Attorney-General. No public 
money shall be expended until the written opinion of the Attorney- 
(leneral shall be had. 

Sec. liy>7. The Quartermaster-General may emplo}^ as many forage 
masters and wagon masters, not exceeding twenty in the whole, as he 
may deem necessary for the service, who shall be entitled to receive 
each fifty dollars per month and three rations per day and forage for 
one horse. No forage master or wagon master shall be concerned, 
directly or indirectly, in any means of transport cmplo3"ed by the 
United States, or in the purchase or sale of any property procured for 
or belonging to the United States, except as agent for the United 
States. 

Sec. 113S. No officer belonging to the Quartermaster's Department, 
or doing the duty of a (Quartermaster or assistant quartermaster, shall 
be concerned, directly or indirectly, in the purchase or sale of any arti- 
cle intended for or appertaining to said department of service, except 
on account of the United States; nor shall any such officer take or 
apply to his own use any gain or emolument for negotiating or trans- 
acting any business connected with the duties of his office other than 
that which may bo allowed by law. 

Sec. 1131). The Quartermaster-General, under the direction of the 
Seci'etary of War, shall prescribe and enforce a system of accounta- 
bility for all quartermaster's supplies to the Army or to officers, sea- 
men, and marines. And he shall account to the Secretary of War at 
least once in three months for all property and money that may pass 
through his hands or the hands of his subordinate officers. 

* * * 

Sec. 1191. All officers of the Quartermaster"'s . . . depart- 
ments, . . . and all storekeepers shall, before entering upon the 
duties of their respective offices, give good and sufficient bonds to the 
United States, in such sums as the Secretary of War may direct, faith- 
fully to account for all public moneys and property which they may 
receive. The President may at any time increase the sum so pre- 
scribed. But the Quartermaster-General shall not be liable for any 
money or property that may come into the hands of the subordinate 
officers of his department. 

* * * 

Sec. 1193. The . . . Quartermaster-General, . . . shall be 
appointed by selection from the corps to which they l)ek)ng. 

Sec. 1194. Until otherwise directed by law there shall be no new 
appointments and no promotions in the . . . Quartermaster's 
. . . departments. 

* * * 

Sec. 1221. Every officer who receiv^es clothing or camp equipage for 
the use of his connuand or for issue to the troops shall render to the 
Quartermaster-General at the expiration of each regular quarter of 



THE QUAKTERMASTEE's DEPARTMENT. 225 

the year quarterly returns of such supplies, according to the forms 
which may be prescribed, accompanied by the requisite vouchers for 
any issues which shall have been made. Said returns and vouchers, 
after due examination by the Quartermaster-General, shall be trans- 
mitted for settlement to the proper accounting officer of the Treasury 
Department. 

•X- * -X- 

Sec. 1241. The President may cause to be sold any militar}^ stores 
which, upon proper inspection or survey, appear to be damaged or 
unsuitable for the public service. Such inspection or survey shall be 
made by officers designated by the Secretary of War, and the sales 
shall be made under regulations prescribed by him. 

-X- -X- * 

Sec. 1296. The President may prescribe the uniform of the Army 
and quality and kind of clothing which shall be issued annually to the 
troops of the United States. 

Sec. 1297. No allowance of clothing shall be made to sergeants of 
ordnance. 

Sec. 1298. The Secretary of War may . . . order gratuitous 
issues of clothing to soldiers who have had contagious diseases, and to 
hospital attendants who have nursed them, to replace any articles of 
their clothing destroyed by order. 

* * * 

Sec. 1137. Authorizes the President to detail, temporarily, three 
competent naval officers for the service of the War Department in the 
inspection of transport vessels, etc. 

•X- * * 

Sec. 1617. . . . Each ])rigade [of militia called into service] 
shall have . . . one assistant quartermaster, 

* ■x- * 

Sec. 3714. All purchases and contracts for supplies or services for the 
military . . . serviceshallbemadeby or under the direction of the 
chief officers of the Departments of War, . . . And all agents or 
contractors for supplies or service as aforesaid shall render their 
accounts for settlement to the accountant of the proper Department for 
which such supplies or services are required, subject, nevertheless, to 
the inspection and i-evision of the officers of the Treasury, . . 

•X- * -X- 

Sec. 3716. The Quartermaster's Department of the Army, in obtain- 
ing supplies for the military service, shall state in all advertisements 
for bids for contracts that a preference shall be given to articles of 
American production and manufacture produced on the Pacific coast 
to the extent of the consumption required by the public service there. 
In advertising for army supplies the Quartermaster's Department shall 
require all articles which are to be used in the States and Territories of 
the Pacific coast to be delivered and inspected at points designated in 
those States and Territories; and the advertisements for such supplies 
shall be published in newspapers' of the cities of San Francisco, in 
California, and Portland, in Oregon. 

* * * 

Sec. 3732. No contract or purchase on behalf of the United States 
shall be made unless the same is authorized by law or is under an 

S. Doc. 229 15 



226 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

appropriation adequate to its fullillmeut, except in the War . , . 
Departments, for clothing', . . . forag'e, fuel, quarters, or trans- 
portation, which, however, shall not exceed the necessities of the cur- 
rent year. 

* * * 

Sec. 4T91. The Secretary of War is authorized and directed to fur- 
nish [to men entitled to artificial limbs] transportation to and from their 
homes and the place where the}" may be required to go to obtain arti- 
ficial limbs provided for them under authority of law. The transpor- 
tation allowed for having artificial limbs fitted shall be furnished by 
the Quartermaster-General of the Army, the cost of which shall be 
refunded from the appropriations for invalid pensions. 

* * * 

Sec. 4874. The superintendent of the national cemeteries shall be 
selected from meritorious and trustworthy soldiers, either counnis- 
sioned oflacers or enlisted men of the Volunteer or Regular Army, who 
have been honorably mustered out or discharged from the service of 
the United States, and who may have been disabled for active field 
service in the line of duty. 

Sec. 4875. The superintendent of the national cemeteries shall 
receive for their compensation from sixty dollars to seventy-five dol- 
lars a month each, according to the extent and importance of the ceme- 
teries to which they may be respectivel}- assigned, to be determined 
by the Secretary of War; and they shall also be furnished with quar- 
ters and fuel at the several cemeteries. 

■X- * * 

Sec. 4877. In the arrangement of the national cemeteries established 
for the burial of deceased soldiers . . . the Secretary of War is 
hereb}^ directed to have the same inclosed with a good and subs-tantial 
stone or iron fence; and to cause each grave to be marked with a small 
headstone or block, which shall be of durable stone and of such design 
and weight as shall keep it in place when set, and shall bear the name 
of the soldier and the name of his State inscribed thereon, when the 
same are known, and also with the number of the grave inscribed 
thereon, corresponding with the luunl^er opposite to the name of the 
party in a register of burials to be kept at each cemetery and at the 
olfice of the Quartermaster-General, which shall set forth the name, 
rank, company, regiment, and date of death of the officer or soldier; 
or if these are unknown, it shall be so recorded. 

* * * 

Sec. 4879. The President is authorized to provide, out of the ordi- 
nar}^ annual appropriations for establishing and maintaining United 
States military cemeteries, for the proper care and presei'vation and 
maintenance of the cemetery or burial ground near the City of Mexico 
in which are interred the remains of officers and soldiers of the United 
States who fell in battle or died in and around said city. 

Sec. 4880. The cemetery in Mexico shall be subject to the rules and 
regulations affecting United States national military cemeteries within 
the limits of the United States, so far as they may, in the opinion of 
the President, be applicable thereto. 



THE quaetekmaster's depaetment. 227 

STATUTES AT LARGE. 

Februarys, 1879 (^0-f,?i).— Authorizes erection of headstones over the graves of 
soldiers buried in private, village, or city cemeteries in same manner as provided for 
soldiers interred in national cemeteries. 

Act of March 3, 1881 {21 Stats., J/SS). 

AN ACT making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the 
fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-two, and for other 
purposes. 

* * * 

For the purchase of a suitable site in the city of Washington for the 
erection of a brick and metal fireproof building to be used and occu- 
pied by the Pension Bureau, the building to be erected in accordance 
with plans approved b}' the Secretary of War and the Secretary of 
the Interior, under the supervision of the Quartermaster-General of 
the United States Army,^ the site for which shall be selected by him, 
subject to the approval of the Secretaries aforesaid, both as to location 
and price, 

[All the old clothing now held for issue to the National Home to be 
turned over to the managers of the Home.] 

* * * 

March 11, 1882 [22-378). — Provides for transportation of rations, etc., to sufferers 
from overflow of the Mississippi River, Hospital tents may be used to furnish them 
temporary shelter. 

Act of June 30, 1882 {22 Stats., 117). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year end- 
ing June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-three, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Provided, That there shall be no discrimination in the issue of forage 
against officers serving east of the Mississippi River, provided they are 
required by law to be mounted and actually keep and own their 
animals. 



Act of March 3, 1883 {22 Stats., 4S6). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year end- 
ing June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-four, and for other purposes. 



PAY DEPARTMENT. 

For pay of the Army, — . . . : Provided, . . . , and here- 
after vacancies occurring in the Quartermasters'' . . . depart- 
ments of -the Army may in the discretion of the President be tilled 
from civil life. 



^ The act of August 7, 1882 (22-302) reappropriated the sum appropriated in this 
act, and placed the construction of the building under the supervision of Gen. Mont- 
gomery C. Meigs, late Quartermaster-General, retired. 



228 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Act of March 3, 1883 {22 Stats., 564). 

AN ACT prescribing regulations for the Soldiers' Home, located at Washington, in 
the District of Columbia, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 10. That the Board of Commissioners of the Soldiers' Home 
shall hereafter consist of the . . . Quartermaster- General, . . . 

* * * 

February 12, 1884 {23-S67). — Clothing and other necessaries maybe issued to desti- 
tute persons in the district overflowed by the Ohio River and its tributaries, and tents 
used to furnish them temporary shelter. Additional appropriation for this purpose 
was made by resolution of February 15, 1884 (23-268). 

March '£7, 1884 {23-269) .—^oi exceeding $125,000 of the appropriation for the Ohio 
sufferers may be used for the relief of destitute persons in the district overflowed by 
the Mississippi River and its tributaries. Resolution of June 7, 1884 (23-273) allows, 
the same purpose, the unexpended aii^jrupriation for the relief of the Ohio sufferers. 

Act of July o, 188 Jf. {23 Stats., 107). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hmidred and eighty-five, and for other jiurposes. 



QUARTERMASTKK S DEPARTMENT. 

. Pi'ODided, That hereafter all purchases of regular and mis- 
cellaneoits supplies for the Army furnished by the Quartermaster's 
Department . . . for inuuediate use shall be made by the officers 
of such Department, under direction of the Secretary of War, at the 
places nearest the points where they are needed, the conditions of cost 
and quality being eciual: Provided also. That all purchases of said 
supplies, except in cases of emergenc}^ which must be at once reported 
to the Secretary of War for his approyal, shall be made by contract 
after public notice of not less than ten days for small amoinits for 
immeciiate use, and of not less than from thirt}" to sixt}" days when- 
eyer, in the opinion of the Secretary of War, the circtmistances of the 
case and conditions of the seryice shall warrant such extension of time. 
The award in every case shall be made to tlie lowest responsibU> liidder 
for the ])est and most suitable article, the right being reserved to 
reject any and all bids. The Quartermaster-General . . . shall 
report promptly all purchases of supplies made by his Department, 
with their cost price and place of delivery, to the Secretary of War 
for transmission to Congress annually: ProvhJed further , That in time 
of peace the numljer of draught and pack animals in the Quartermas- 
ter's Department of the Army shall not exceed six thousand, and that 
all transportation of stores l)y priyate parties for the Army shall be 
done by contract, after due legal adyertisement, except in cases of 
emergency, which must be at once reported to the Secretary of War 
for his approval; that the Secretary of War is authorized to appoint, 
on the recommendation of the Quartermaster-General, as man}^ post 
quartermaster-sergeants, not to exceed eighty, as he may deem neces- 
sary for the interests of the service, said sergeants to be selected by 
examination from the most competent enlisted men of the Army 



THE quartermaster's DEPARTMENT. 229 

who have served at least four years, and whose character and educa- 
tion shall fit them to take charge of public property and to act as 
clerks and assistants to post and other quartermasters. Said post 
quartermaster-sergeants shall, so far as practicable, perform the duties 
of storekeepers and clerks, in lieu of citizen employees. The post 
quartermaster-sergeants shall be subject to the rules and articles of 
war and shall receive for their services the same pay and allowances 
as ordnance sergeants. 

. . . Provided^ That the number of horses purchased under this 
appropriation, added to the number actually on hand, shall not at any 
time exceed the number of enlisted and Indian scouts in the mounted 
service: And jpromded further^ That hereafter all purchases of 
horses under appropriations for horses for the cavalry and artillery 
and for the Indian scouts shall be made by contract, after legal adver- 
tisement, by the Quartermaster's Department, under instructions of 
the Secretary of War, the horses to be inspected under the orders of 
the General Commanding the Army, and no horse shall be received and 
paid for until duly inspected. The Quartermaster-General shall report 
to the Secretary of War promptly, for transmission to Congress annually, 
all purchases and contracts for horses, mules, and military supplies for 
the Army made by his Department. 

* * * 

. . . Provided^ That no expenditure exceeding five hundred 
dollars shall be made upon any building or military post w^ithout the 
approval of the Secretary of War for the same upon detailed estimates 
of the Quartermaster's Department, and the erection, construction, and 
repairs of all buildings and other public structures in the Quarter- 
master's Department shall, so far as may be practicable, be made by 
contract, after due legal advertisement. . . 

* * * 

June 30, ISSS [24-93). — No part of appropriation for barracks and quarters shall l^e 
paid for comnuitation of fuel, and for quarters to officers or enlisted men. 

February 9, 1887 [24-394) . — No expenditures exceeding $500 to be made on any 
building, etc., without approval of the Secretary of War. 

June. 20, 1888 [25-623). — Tents and tent equipage maybe loaned to veteran organi- 
zations of the Society of the Army of the Potomac on the twenty-fifth anniversary 
of the battle of Gettysburg. [J. R. , June 30, 1888 (25-625) , changes ' ' tent equipage ' ' 
in above to "camp equipage."] 

Act of September 22, 1888 (25 Stats., 481). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year end- 
ing June thirtieth, eighteen himdred and eighty-nine, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

. . . Provided, That hereafter no part of this appropriation shall 
be expended in the purchase for the Army of draught animals until 
the number on hand shall be reduced to five thousand, . . . 
* * * 

. . . but the cost of construction of quarters at any one post shall 
in no case exceed eight hundred dollars, except where a post is situated 
at a city of more than fifty thousand inhabitants, the cost of construc- 
tion of such quarters ma}^ be not to exceed twelve hundred dollars. 

* * * 

March 31, 1890 [26-33). — Authorizes jmrchase of 2,500 tents for the use of the peo- 
l)le in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi driven from their homes by floods. 



230 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENEEAL STAFF OF U. S. AEMY. 

June 13, 1890 {26-163) .—The artillery detachment at West Point to be mustered out 
and the men immediately reenlisted as army service men in the Quartermaster's 
Department. 

February 24, 1891 [26-770). — Transportation furnished by the Quartermaster's 
Department to officers traveling without troops shall be limited to transportation in 
kind, not including sleeping or parlor car accommodations, over free roads, over 
bond-aided Pacific railroads, and by conveyance belonging to that Department. 

July 16, 1892 {27-174)- — Sergeants of ordnance to receive the same allowance of 
clothing as other sergeants in like staff departments. 

July 27, 1892 {27-276) . — Specimens of equipments, uniforms, etc., used in battle of 
Gettysburg to be delivered to the Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Association. 

Post exchanges may use public buildings or public transportation when, in the 
opinion of the Quartermaster-General, not required for other purposes. 

Act of March 29, 189 If, {28 Stats., J^7). 

AN ACT to regulate the making of projierty returns by officers of the Government. 

That instead of f orwardincr to the accounting- officers of the Treasury 
Department returns of pulilic property intrusted to the possession of 
officers or agents, the Quartermaster-General . . . shall certify 
to the proper accoitnting officer of the Treasury Department, for debit- 
ing on the proper account, any charge against any officer or agent 
intrusted with public property, arising from any loss, accruing by his 
fault, to the Government as to the property intrusted to him. 
* * * 

July 26, 1894 {28-151). — Number of men in the detachment of army service men at 
the Military Academy may be raised to 150 if deemed by the Secretary of War to be 
required. 

Act of August 6, 1894- {28 Stats., 233). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-five, and for other purposes. 



FOR PAY OF THE GENERAL STAFF. 

. . . Provided, That . . . hereafter all appointments to fill 
vacancies in the lowest grade in the . . . Quartermaster's . 
Department, respectively, shall be made from the next lowest grade in 
the line of the Army. 

* * * 

. . . Provided further, . . . That purchases may be made 
in open market in the manner common among business men when the 
aggregate amount required does not exceed two hundred dollars, but 
every such purchase shall be immediately reported to the Secretary of 

War. 

* * * 

January 16, 1895 {28-627). — Strength of detachment of army service men at the 
Military Academy, together with the cavalry detachment, not to exceed 215 men. 

March 2, 1895 {28-764). — Abolishes section 229, Revised Statutues, requiring annual 
statement of contracts for supplies or service. 

March 24, 1897 (,?0-^i6) .—Authorizes purchase of 1,000 tents for the relief of suf- 
ferers from the flood in the Mississippi River. 

May 27, 1897 {30-220). — Authorizes purchase of clothing for the relief of destitute 
citizens of the United States in Cuba. 

July 19, 1897 {30-224) • — One thousand tents to be issued for use of Grand Army 
encampment at Fort Leavenworth. 



THE QUARTEEM aster's DEPARTMENT. 231 

December 18, 1897 {30-226) . — Transportation to be furnished for stores, etc., for the 
reUef of persons in the Yukon River Country. 

March 10, 1808 {30-737) . — Tents may be loaned for use of the thirty -second national 
encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic at Cincinnati. 

Aci of April 22, 1898 {30 Stat., 361). 

AN ACT to provide for temporarily increasing the military establishment of the 
United States in time of war, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 10. That the staff of the commander of an army corps shall 
consist of . . . one chief quartermaster, . . . who shall have 
. . . the rank of lieutenant-colonel. . . . The staff of the com- 
mander of a division shall consist of . . . one chief quartermas- 
ter, . . . who shall have . . . the rank of major. . . , 
The staff' of the commander of a brigade shall consist of . . . one 
assistant quartermaster, . . . with the rank of captain. . . . 

* * * 

May 18, 1898 {30-417). — Prescribes mode of issuing quartermaster stores for desti- 
tute inhabitants of Cuba. 

June 7, 1808 {30-433). — Suspends, during existing war, certain provisions of law 
limiting number of horses and draft animals, etc. The act of March 3, 1899 (30-1350), 
limits suspension to March 1, 1900. Suspension continued to June 30, 1901, by act 
of February 24, 1900. (31 .) 

Act of July 1, 1898 {30 Stat., 571). 

AN ACT to authorize appointment of a military storekeeper in the Army. 

That the President is hereby authorized to nominate and, by and 
with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoint a military store- 
keeper in the Quartermaster's Department of the Army; and all laws 
inconsistent herewith are hereby suspended for the purpose of this act 
only. 

Act of July 7, 1898 {30 Stats., 71.'^). 
AN ACT to increase the efficiency of the Quartermaster's Department of the Army. 

That during the existing war and for a period not exceeding one 
year thereafter the Secretary of War may make such distribution of 
the duties and labors of the Quartermaster's Department as may be 
deemed for the best interests of the service, and may assign a suitable 
officer in charge of each of such divisions, and may assign to duty as 
special inspectors of the Quartermaster's Department not exceeding 
four officers to be selected from the regular and volunteer officers of 
the department; and such officers and the quartermaster on the staff 
of the Commanding General of the Army while so acting shall have 
the rank next above that held by them and not above colonel. 

Sec. 2. That the President may nominate and, by and with the advice 
and consent of the Senate, may appoint two quartermasters of volun- 
teers with the rank of colonelj two quartermasters of volunteers with 
the rank of lieutenant-colonel, three quartermasters of volunteers with 
the rank of major, and twenty assistant quartermasters of volunteers 
with the rank of captain, and the Secretary of AVar may assign an offi- 
cer of the Quartermaster's Department in charge of each principal 



232 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

depot of the Quartermaster's Department, not exceeding twelve, to be 
selected from the regular and volunteer officers of the Quartermaster's 
Department; and such officers while so acting shall have the rank next 
above that held by them and not above colonel, and the four principal 
assistants of the Quartermaster-General while so acting shall have the 
rank of colonel. The Secretary of War may assign such of the said 
volunteer quartermasters as may be deemed necessary to duty in the 
office of the Quartermaster-General at the various supply depots or 
on other important and special work, and may continue such assign- 
ments for a period not exceeding one year after the close of the war, 
then to be discharged. 

Act ofJvly <S\ 189S {30 Stats., 728). 

AN ACT to increase the nuiiil)erof i)ostquarterinaster-sergeants in the United States 

Army. 

That the number of post quartermaster-sergeants of the Army be 
increased l)y the addition of twenty-five post quartermaster-sergeants, 
to be appointed by the Secretary of War in the manner now provided 
by law. 

Act of March 2, 1899 {SO Stats., 977). 

AN ACT f()r increasing the etiiciency of the Arniy of tlie laiited States, and for other 

purposes. 

That from and after the date of approval of this act the Army 
of the United States shall consist of . . . a Quartermaster's 
Department, . . . : Provided, That when a vacancy shall occur 
through death, retirement, or other separation from active service, in 
the oliice of storekeeper in the Quartermaster's Department . . . , 
respectively, now provided for by law, said offices shall cease to exist. 
* * * 

Sec. 7. That the . . . Quartermaster's Department . . . shall 
consist of the officers and enlisted men now provided by law: . 

-X- -x- -x- 

vSec. 11. That so much of the act approved July seventh, eighteen 
hundred and ninety-eight, as authorizes the assignment of certain offi- 
cers of the Quartermaster's . . . departments with increased rank, 
and the continuance in service of certain volunteer officers of those 
departments for a period of one year after the close of the present war, 
is repealed. 

-X -X- -X 

Sec. 14. That the President is hereby authorized to continue in 
service, or to appoint b}' and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
officers of the volunteer staff as follows: 

* -X- * 

Thirty quartermasters with the rank of major, and fort}^ assistant 
quartermasters with the rank of captain. 

■X- x- * 

March 30, 1900 {31 ). — Provision of section 1^55, Revised Statutes, waived so far 

as refer to erection of buildings at Fort Bu Pont, Del., for the shelter of troops. 

March 3, 1S99 {.30-1350). — Suspends until March 1, 1900, ])rovisions of law limiting 
number of horses and draft animals; amount of i)rinting; services of emj>loyees. 
Suspension extended to June 30, I'JOl, by at't of February 24, 1900. (;>1 .) 



THE quartermaster's DEPARTMENT. 233 

Act ofFehriumj 2, 1901 {31 Stats., — ). 

AN ACT to increase the efficiency of the permanent military establishment of the 

United States. 

That from and after the approval of this act the Army of the United 
States, . . . shall consist of ... a Quartermaster's Depart- 
ment: . . . Provided, That when a vacancy shall occur through 
death, retirement, or other separation from active service in the office 
of storekeeper, now provided for by law in the Quartermaster's 
Department . . . said office shall cease to exist. 

* * * 

Sec. 16. That the Quartermaster's Department shall consist of one 
Quartermaster-General with the rank of brigadier-general, six assist- 
ant quartermasters-general with the rank of colonel, nine deputy 
quartermasters-general with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, twenty 
quartermasters with the rank of major, sixty quartermasters with the 
rank of captain, mounted; the military storekeeper now provided for 
by law, and one hund,red and fifty post quartermaster-sergeants: Pro- 
vided, That all vacancies in the grade of colonel, lieutenant-colonel, 
and major created or caused by this section shall be filledtby promo- 
tion according to seniority, as now prescribed by law. That to fill 
original vacancies in the grade of captain created by this act in the 
Quartermaster's Department the President is authorized to appoint 
oflicers of volunteers commissioned in the Quartermaster's Depart- 
ment since April twenty-first, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight: 
Provided' further. That the President is authorized to continue in 
service, during the present emergency, for duty in the Philippine 
Islands and on transports, twenty-four captains and assistant quarter- 
masters of volunteers. This authority shall extend only for the period 
when their services shall be absolutely necessary. 

* * * 

Sec. 20. That the grade of veterinarian of the second class in cav- 
alry regiments, United States Army, is hereby al)olished, and here- 
after the two veterinarians authorized for each cavalry regiment and 
the one veterinarian authorized for each artillery regiment shall receive 
the pay and allowances of second lieutenants, mounted. Such number 
of veterinarians as the Secretary of War may authorize shall be em- 
ployed to attend animals pertaining to the quartermaster's or other 
departments not directly connected with the cavalry and artillery regi- 
ments, at a compensation not exceeding one hundred dollars per month. 

* * * 

Sec. 26. That so long as there remain any officers holding perma- 
nent appointments in the . . . Quartermaster's Department, . . . 
including those appointed to original vacancies in the grades of cap- 
tain and first lieutenant under the provisions of sections sixteen, seven- 
teen, twenty-one, and twenty-four of this act, they shall be promoted 
according to seniority in the several grades, as now provided by law, 
and nothing herein contaijicd shall be deemed to apply to vacancies 
which can be filled by such promotions or to the periods for which 
the officers so promoted shall hold their appointments, and when any 
vacancy, except that of the chief of the department or corps, shall 
occur which can not be filled 1)V ]n"()inotion as provided in this section, 
it shall be filled by detail from the line of the Army, and no more per- 



234 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

manent appointments shall be made in those departments or corps 
after the original vacancies created by this act shall have been tilled. 
Such details shall be made from the grade in which the vacancies exist, 
under such system of examination as the President may from time to 
time prescribe. 

All officers so detailed shall serve for a period of four years, at the 
expira,tion of which time they shall return to duty with the line, and 
officers below the rank of lieutenant-colonel shall not again be eligible 
for selection in any staff department until they shall have served two 
years with the line. 

That when vacancies shall occur in the position of chief of any staff 
corps or depailment the President may appoint to such vacancies, by 
and with the advice and consent of the Senate, officers of the Army at 
large not below the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and who shall hold office 
for terms of four years. When a vacancy in the position of chief of any 
staff corps or department is filled by the appointment of an officer 
below the rank now provided by law for said office, said chief shall, 
while so serving, have the same rank, pay, and allowances now pro- 
vided for the chief of such corps or department. And any officer now 
holding office in any corps or department who shall hereafter serve as 
chief of a staff corps or department and shall su])sequently be retired, 
shall be retired with the rank, pay, and allowances authorized by law 
for the retirement of such corps or department chief: Provuled, That 
so long as there remain in service officers of any staff" corps or depart- 
ment holding permanent appointments, the chief of such staff' corps or 
department shall be selected from the officers so remaining therein. 

Sec. 27. That each position vacated by officers of the line, trans- 
ferred to any department of the staff' for tours of service under this 
act, shall be filled by promotion in the line until the total number 
detailed equals the numljer authorized for duty in each staff* depart- 
nlent. Thereafter vacancies caused- by details from the line to the 
staff' shall be filled by officers retvirning from tours of staff' duty. If 
under the operation of this act the number of officers returned to any 
particular arm of the service at any time exceeds the number authorized 
by law in any grade, promotions to that grade shall cease until the 
number has been reduced to that authorized. 



Aet of March ^, 1901 {31 Stats., ). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the tigcal year end- 
ing June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and two. 

-X- % -x- 

Provided^ That appointments to fill original vacancies ... in 
the grade of captain in the Quartermaster's Department, . . . may 
be made from officers of volunteers commissioned since April twenty- 
first, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight. 



Vl.-THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 



235 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 



The earliest legislation relative to the subsistence of the Army is 
found in the resolution of the CVjntinental Congress dated June 16, 
1775, creating the office of Connrissary-General of Stores and Provi- 
sions. The range of duties of that office was so extensive that much 
dissatisfaction prevailed with respect to the administration of the 
all'airs of the department, and Congress, June 10, 1777, instituted a 
new system, creating two great l)ranches — one under a Commissary- 
General of Purchases and the other under a Commissary-General of 
Issues, the former, by resolution of June 11, "to keep his office in 
the place where Congress shall sit." The ordinance of June 17, 1777, 
regulating the Clothing Department, placed it in charge of a Clothier- 
General, and, April 10, 1782, this officer was directed to receive his 
instructions from the War Office, November 25, 1779, the two 
departments of purchase and issues, heretofore acting under the 
direction and control of a conmiittee of Congress, were placed imder 
the superintendence of the Board of War. 

July 10, 1781, Congress directed the Superintendent of Finance to 
procure on contract all necessary supplies for the Army, and under 
this resolution the commissariat S3"stem of subsisting the Army was 
discontinued and the methods of contracts for rations adopted in its 
stead. 

There was no further legislation on the subject of subsistence of the 
Army until after the reorganization of the Government under the 
Constitution. 

The act of March 8, 1792, again devolved upon the Treasury Depart- 
ment the duty of making all purchases and contracts for supplying the 
Army with provisions, etc., and by the act of February 23, 1795, the 
Treasury official charged with that duty was denominated "purveyor 
of public supplies." This act was repealed b}" the law of July 16, 
1798, which required all purchases and contracts for supplies to be 
niad(^ imder the direction of the Secretary of War. 

The act of March 16, 1802, provided for three militar}^ agents and 
assistants, whose duty was to purchase, receiv^e, and forward to their 
proper destination all military supplies. But the military agency sys- 
tem proved to be unsatisfactor}" and was abolished by the act of March 
28, 1812, which created anew the office of Commissary-General of Pur- 
chases. This office was abolished by act of August 23, 1842, and its 
duties transferred to the Quartermaster's Department. 

The act of April 14, 1818, first created the office of Commissary- 
General, the incumbent to be appointed as soon as the state of exist- 
ing contracts for the subsistence of the Army would permit. The 
new system did not, however, go into operation until June 1, 1819. 

237 



238 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENEEAL STAFF OF U. S. AEMY. 

Commissary-General of Stores and Provisions. 
July 19, 1775. — Joseph Trumbull. 

Commissary- General of Purchases. 

June 18, 1777.— Joseph Trumbull. 
Aug. 5, 1777. — William Buchanan. 
Apr. 9, 1778. — Jeremiah Wadsworth. 
Dec. 2, 1779.— Ephraim Blaine. 

Commissary- General of Issues. 

June 18, 1777. — Charles Stewart. 

Clothier- General. 

Apr. 4, 1777. — James Mease. 
June 24, 1779.— Peter Wikoff. 
July 15, 1779. — Persifor Frazer. 
July 24, 1779.— James Wilkinson. 
Apr. 17, 1781.— John Moylan. 

Commissary oj Hides. 

June 20, 1777.— Peter Philips. 

Aug. 5, 1777. — George Ewing. 

Jan. 28, 1779.— John Mehelm (for New Jersey). 

Commissary of Purchases. 

Aug. 8, 1812. — Callender Irvine. 
Oct. 11, 1841.— J. W. Tyson. 

C 'ommissary- General. 

Apr. 18, 1818.— Col. (Bvt. Maj. Gen., May 30, 1848) George Gibson (Pennsylvania). 
Sept. 29, 1861.— Col. (Bvt. Brig. Gen., Feb. 9, 1863) Joseph P. Taylor (Kentucky). 
June 29, 1864.— Brig. Gen. (Bvt. Maj. Gen., Mar. 13, 1865) Amos B. Eaton (New 

Hampshire). 
June 23, 1874.— Brig. Gen. (Bvt. Maj. Gen., Mar. 13, 1865) Alexander E. Shiras 

(New Jersey). 
Apr. 14, 1875. — Brig. (Jen. Robert Macf eel y (Pennsylvania). 
July 10, 1890. — Brig. Gen. Beekman du Barry (District of Columbia). 
Dee. 22, 1892.— Brig. Gen. John P. Hawkins (Indiana). 
Oct. 8, 1894. — Brig. Gen. Michael R. Morgan (Louisiana). 
Jan. 17, 1897.— Brig. Gen. Thomas C. Sullivan (Ohio). 
Nov. 14, 1897.— Brig. Gen. William H. Bell (Pennsylvania). 
Jan. 28, 1898.— Brig. Gen. Samuel T. Cushing (Rhode Island). 
Apr. 21, 1898.— Brig. Gen. William H. Nash (Ohio). 
May 3, 1898. — Brig. (xen. Charles P. Eagan (Washinffton Territory). 
Dec. 6, 1900.— Brig. Gen. John F. Weston (Kentucky). 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 



JOURNALS OF THE AMERICAN (CONTINENTAL) CONGRESS. 

June i, 1775. 

Upon motion, Remlved, That it l)e recommended to the government 
of Connecticut, or the general of the forces of that colony, to appoint 
commissaries to receive at Albany and forward the supplies of provi- 
sions for the forces on Lake Champlain from the provincial conven- 
tion of New York, and that the said convention use their utmost 
endeavors in facilitating and aiding the transportation thereof from 
thence to where the said commissaries ma}^ direct. 

June 16^ 1776. 

Resolved, . . . That there be one Commissary-General of 
Stores and Provisions. 

That his pay be eighty dollars per month. 

July 17, 1775. 

Resolved, That a commissary of stores and provisions be appointed 
for the New York department during the present campaign. 
Walter Livingston, esq., chosen to that office. 

July 19, 1775. 

Resolved, That Joseph Trumbull be Commissary-General of Stores 
and Provisions for the Army of the United Colonies. 

July 29, 1775. 

Resolved, That the pa}^ of the . . . I^e . . . 
Deputy commissarj^-general of stores and provisions, sixty dollars 
per ditto [month]. 

* * * 

Resolved, That the . . . Commissary-General . . . and 
every of their [his] deputies shall take an oath truly and faithful!}^ to 
dischai'ge the duties of their respective stations. 

July 31, 1775. ' 

Resolved, That the above-named gentlemen [Messrs. Langdon, 
J. Adams, Hopkins, Deane, Clinton, Crane, Franklin, Podney, John- 
son, Henry, Hewes, Gadsden, and Hall] be a committee in the recess 
of the Congress to inquire into the cheapest and easiest methods of 
making salt in these colonies. 

July SI, 1775. — -Announces appointment l)y Congress of Joseph Trunihull as Com- 
missary-General to the Army of the United Colonies. [Orders, General Headquarters, 
Cambridge.) 

239 



240 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

August 8, 1775. — "The following is the ration of provisions allowed by the Conti- 
nental Congress nnto each soldier, viz, 1 lb. of fresh beei or | of a lb. of pork or 1 lb. 
of salt fish per diem; one pound of bread or flour per diem; 3 pints of peas or beans 
per week or vegetables equivalent, at 5s. per bushel for peas or beans; 1 pint of milk 
per man per diem when to be had; one-half pint of rice or 1 pint of Indian meal per 
man per week ; 1 quart of spruce beer per man or 9 gallons of molasses for company 
of 100 men; 3 lbs. of candles to 100 men per week for guards, etc.; 24 lbs. of soft or 
8 lbs of hard soap j)er 100 men per week. ' ' ( Orders, General Headquarters, Cam- 
bridge. ) 

Septenther 11^^ 1775. 

Bemlved., . . . That the deputy commissary -general be directed 
to pay to Dr. Stringer for the medicines he has purchased for the use 
of the Army, and that he purchase and forward such other medicines as 
General Schuyler shall, by his warrant, direct for the use of said Army. 

September 21, 1775. — "The General has thought proper to order and direct that 
from the first day of July last there be issued by the Commissary-General the follow- 
ing proportion of rations, viz: To each major-general, 15 rations; to each brigadier- 
general, 12 rations; to each colonel, 6 rations; to each lieutenant-colonel, 5 rations; 
to each major, 4 rations; to each captain, 3 rations; to each su])altern, 2 rations, and 
to each staff officer, 2 rations. ( Orders, General Headquarters, Cambridge. ) 

Septemher 23^ 1775. 

Resolved., That a committee be appointed to purchase a quantity of 
woolen goods for the use of the Army to the amount of live thousand 
pounds sterling. 

That the said goods, when bought, be placed in the hands of the 
quartermasters-general of the Continental armies, and that the same be 
by them sold out to the private soldiers of said armies at prime cost 
and charges, including a connnission of live per centum to the said 
quartermasters-general for their trouble. 

That the committee consist of live. 

The ballot being taken and examined, the following members were 
chosen: 

Mr. Lewis, Mr. Alsop, Mr, Willing, Mr. Deane, and Mr. Langdon. 

October 3, 1775. 

Resolved., That the Commissary-General contract for such quantities 
of beef and pork as may be thought proper by the General, and have 
the same salted up in convenient houses near the camp, according to 
his scheme recommended by the General to the consideration of the 
Congress. 

Octoher ZJ, 1775. 

Resolved^ That a letter be sent to General Washington to inform 
him that Congress, having received certain intelligence of the sailing 
of two north-country built brigs of no force from England on the 11th 
of August last, loaded with . . . stores for Quebec, without con- 
vo}^, which it being of importance to intercept, desire that he apply to 
the council of Massachusetts Bay for the two armed vessels in their 
service and despatch the same, with a sufficient luunber of people, 
stores, etc., particularly' a number of oars, in order, if possible, to 
intercept the said two brigs and their cargoes and secure the same for 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 241 

the use of the continent; also any other transports laden with , . . 
clothing and other stores, for the use of the ministerial army or navy 
in America, and secure them in the most convenient places for the pur- 
pose above mentioned. . . . 

Novemher ^, 1775. 

Resolved, That 3,000 felt hats, 3,000 worsted caps, 3,000 pair of 
buckskin breeches, 3,000 pair of shoes, 3,000 pair of yarn stockings, 
and 3,000 waistcoats, suitable for the season, be immediately purchased 
and sent to the army under the command of General Schuyler, to be 
sold to the soldiers at prime cost, including charges of carriage and 
five per cent to the deputy quartermaster-general, by whom the said 
goods are to be sold. 

* * * 

Resolved, That as nuich duffels or kersey as will make three hun- 
dree watch coats be purchased and sent to General Schuyler, with 
needles and thread, to be made into watch coats, and that these be 
charged to the continent and kept for the use of the out centries. 

Remlved, That a committee of three be appointed to purchase the 
foregoing articles. 

The members chosen, Mr, Alsop, Mr. Lewis, and Mr. Sherman. 

November S, 1775. — The resolve of this date and those of September 23 and October 
23, 1776, relating to clothing belong properly under this head, but Congress, in these 
three instances, devolved the duty on the Quartermaster-General. 

Novevd)er ^, 1775. 

Resolved, That a ration consist of the following kind and quantity 
of provisions: 

1 lb. beef, or f lb. pork, or 1 lb. salt fish per da3^ 

1 lb. bread or flour per day. 

3 pints of pease or beans per week, or vegetables equivalent, at one 
dollar per bushel for pease or beans. 

1 pint of milk per man, or at the rate of ^V of ^ dollar. 

1 half pint of rice, or 1 pint of Indian meal per man per week. 

1 quart of spruce beer or cider per man per day, or nine gallons of 
molasses per compan}^ of 100 men per week. 

3 lb. candles to 100 men per week for guards. 

24 lb. soft or 8 lb. hard soap for 100 men per week. 

* * * 

Resolved, That clothing be provided for the new army by the conti- 
nent, and paid for by stoppages out of the soldiers' wages, at If dol- 
lars per month; that as much as possible of the cloth for this piirpose 
be dyed brown, and the distinctions of the regiments made in the 
facings. 

That a man who brings a good new blanket into the camp be allowed 
two dollars therefor, and take it away at the end of the campaign. 

Resolved, That in order to supply the Army with provisions, the 
Commissary-General be directed to cause cattle and hogs to be driven, 
at proper seasons, to the camp, there to be slaughtered and cured, 
and as to the articles of bread and fiour, that he proceed in the way 
that he has done for some time past. 

S. Doc. 229 lt> 



'242 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

November S, 1775. — "If, upon such a conference [Avith General Schuyler] it shall 
be judged necessary, you are authorized to direct Mr. Livingston, the deputy com- 
missary-general, to furnish the necessary provisions for an army of three thousand 
men for six months." {Letter of committee to Messrs. R. R. Livingston, Robert Treat 
Paine, and J. Langdon, who had been directed to consult with General Schuyler relative 
to number of forces necessary in the Northern Department and Canada.) 

Novemher IS, 1775. — "The Commissary-General to order all the horns of the bul- 
locks that are killed for the use of the Army to be saved and sent to the Q. M. Gen- 
eral, who is also to provide as many as he can get, and have the whole made into 
good powderhorns for the use of the troops." {Orders, General Headquarters, Cam- 
bridge.) 

December 8, 1775. 

Hesolved^ That Mr. Thomas Lowry be appointed to suppl}' the bat- 
talions raised in New Jersey with the rations and other necessaries 
allowed them (g^Vo of a dollar per ration). 

December 24-, 1775. — "By order of His Excellency General Washington, a board of 
general officers sat yesterday in Cambiidge and unanimously recommended the fol- 
lowing rations to be delivered in the manner hereby directed, viz, corned beef and 
pork, four days in a week; salt tish, one day; and fresh beef, two days. As milk 
can not be procured during the winter season, the men are to have one pound and a 
half of beef or eighteen ounces of pork per day; half pint of rice or a pint of Indian 
meal per week; one quart of spruce beer per day, or nine gallons of molasses to one 
hundred men per week; six pounds of candles to one hundred men per week, for 
guards; six ounces of butter or nine ounces of hog's lard per week; three pints of 
pease or l)eans per man per week, or vegetables equivalent, allowing six shillings per 
bushel for beans or pease, two and eight pence per bushel for onions, one and four 
pence per bushel for potatoes and turnips; one pound of flour per man each day; 
hard bread to be dealt out one day in a week in lieu of flour. The above allowance 
is ordered to be issued ])y the Commissary-General to all the troops of the United 
Colonies serving in the department, until the honorable the Continental Congress or 
the Commander in Chief thinks proper to alter it." {Orders, General Headquarters, 
Cambridge. ) 

December 26, 1775. — Numerous complaints by officers having been made, November 
14, 1775, against Commissary-General Trumbull, "first, for ni>t delivering out the 
back allowance of pease or the value thereof in money to the officers and men; sec- 
ond, for taking in onions at 2s. (id. and delivering them at 4s.; third, for taking in 
potatoes at Is. 4d. and delivering them out at 2s.," a court-martial was ordered to sit 
December 25, 1775. "The court, on mature consideration, beg leave to report to his 
excellency that the first articles of the charge is groundless, that the second and 
third articles are confessed l)y the Commissary-General, and, though t e court are 
fully satisfied there was not the least design of fraud in Mr. Trumbull, they are 
unanimously of opinion that the measure was pernicious and injudicious." {Orders, 
General Headquarters, Cambridge. ) 

December 29, 1775. — "The Commissary-General having estimated the value of the 
different species of provisions which constitute a ration under the continental allow- 
ance, and finding it to amount to seven pence half penny lawful money, the General, 
having seen the said estimate, approves of it and orders that they be settled with 
accordingly." {Orders, General Headquarters, Cambridge.) 

January 3, 1776. 

Itesolved, That the following goods and stores ought to be imported 
as soon as possible, for the use of the United Colonies, viz: 

60,000 striped blankets. 
120,000 yards of 6-4 cloths, brown and blue, from 3s. to 6s. ster. 
10,000 yards of do. different colors, for facings, at 4s. 
3,000 pieces of duffils, or some such cloth. 
100 M sorted needles. 
50 M do. none fine. 

10 M do. for sailcloth. 

3,000 pieces of raven's duck. 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPAETMENT. 243 

3,000 pieces ticklenburgs. 
1,500 pieces oznaburgs. 
1,000 pieces of vitrey. 
4,000 pieces Hamburg dowlas. 

* * * 

Resolved., That the secret committee be empowered and directed to 
pursue the most effectual measures for importing- the foregoing articles. 

January 10, 1776. — Rations were allowed as follows: Colonel, 6; lieutenant-colonel, 
5; major, 4; captain, 3. [While this resolve referred directly to line officers, it is 
assumed that it governed similar allowances to staff officers.] 

Ja7iuary 25^ 1776. 

Resolved, That Mr. James Mease be appointed a commissary to 
supply the battalions ordered to be raised in Pennsylvania with the 
articles allowed by Congress; and that he be allowed for his trouble 
one and one-fourth per cent in full of all charges for the money passing 
through his hands, and that he give security for the just and faithful 
expenditure of the same. 

That Mr. Lynch and Mr. Allen take the security. 

Fehvmwy 17, 1776. 

Resolved, . . . That the appointment of John Halsted, esq. , to 
be commissary for the army before Quebec, be confirmed. 

2rarch 29, 1776. 

Resolved, That a deputy commissary-general of stores and provisions 
be appointed for the arm}" of the United Colonies in Canada. 
The ballots being taken and examined, 
Mr. J. Price was elected. 

A2)rU 17, 1776. 

Resolved, That the secret committee be empowered to import car- 
goes of salt on the Continental account, in such ships or vessels as 
they employ to carry outward cargoes, and are obliged to insure on 
their return. 

April 19, 1776. 

Resolved, That an immediate supply of . . . shoes and blankets 
be furnished for the troops in Virginia, and that proper persons be 
appointed to procure them, subject to the orders of Congress already 
entered into. 

Resolved, That Mr, Ephraim Blaine be appointed to purchase a 
quantity of blankets not exceeding 5,000, and also that he be directed 
to purchase 5,000 pairs of shoes to be sent to Virginia, to the com- 
manding officer at Williamsburgh. 

Aj)rU 27, 1776. 

Congress also proceeded to the election of a deputy commissary- 
general for supplying the troops in Virginia with rations; and the bal- 
lots being taken and examined, 

William Aylett, esq., was elected. 



244 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Ma/y H, 1776. 

Resolved, That there be allowed to the several persons undermen- 
tioned, employed in the Commissarv-General's Department, in the 
Continental Army, the wages and rations annexed to their names, 
respectiveh% during- the time they have been and shall continue in 
the service of the United Colonies. 

IN THE ISSUING STORE AT CAMBRIDGE. 

Charles Miller, issuing storekeeper, 50 dollars per month and tt 
rations. 

Peter Roe Dalton, first clerk, 4s. 8, lawful money, a day and 3 
rations. 

Ebenezer Perry and Thomas Durant, clerks in store, 3s. 4, do. , and 
2 rations. 

William Brown and Josiah Brown, clerks at scales, 3s. 4, do. , and 2 
rations. 

Robert Davis, clerk of weekly allowances, 3s. 4, do., and 2 rations. 

Eight laborers, one cooper, and one cook, each 2s. 8, lawful money, 
a day and 1 ration. 

Employed to issue to two brigades. 

IN THE STORE AT ROXBURY. 

Aaron Blaney, issuing storekeeper, 50 dollars per month and 4 
rations. 

James Richardson, first clerk, 4s. 8, lawful money, a da}^ and 8 
rations. 

Two clerks in store and two at scales, each 3s. 4, do., and 2 rations. 

Six laborers, one cooper, and one cook, each 2s. 8, do. , and 1 ration. 

Employed to issue to two brigades. 

ON PROSPECT HILL. 

Peter Philips, issuing storekeeper, 40 dollars a month and 4 rations. 
Griffin Green, first ckn-k, 4s. 8, lawful money, a day and 3 rations. 
One clerk in store and one at scales, each 3s. 4, lawful money, a day 
and 2 rations. 

One cooper and four laborers, each 2s. 8, do., and 1 ration. 
Employed to issue to one brigade. 

AT MEDFORU. 

Moses Emerson, issuing storekeeper, 40 dollars a month and 4 rations. 
Israel Mead, first clerk, 4s. 8, lawful money, a day and 3 rations. 
One clerk in store and one at scales, 3s. 4, do., and 2 rations. 
One cooper and four laborers, each 2s. 8, do., and 1 ration. 
Emplo3'ed to issue to one brigade. 

IN THE MAGAZINE AT CAMBRIDGE. 

Samuel Gray, Reuben Stiles, and Daniel Brown, clerks and maga- 
zine keepei's, 4s. 8, hnvful money, a day and 3 rations. 
One cooper, 2s. 8, lawful money, a day and 1 ration. 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPAETMENT. 245 

IN THE MAGAZINE AT ROXBURY. 

Jabez Porter and James Jauncey Pendleton, clerks and magazine 
keepers, 4s. 8, lawful money, a day and 8 rations. 

One cooper, 2s. 8, do., and 1 ration. 

Joseph Farnsworth, connnissary to Colonel Arnold's detachment, 
returned from Fort Halifax, £10, lawful money, a month and 3 rations 
per day. 

Joseph Thomas, employed constantly in riding to collect stores, 
procure teams, etc., himself and horse, 8s., lawful money, a day and 3 
rations. 

William Herkins and Elisha Avery, principal bookkeepers and 
pa3'ers of small bills, =€10, lawful money, a month and 3 rations per 
day. 

ResoUed^ That an addition of 40 dollars a month be made to the pay 
of the Conmiissary-General. 

June J, 1776. 

Resolmed^ That the Commandm- in Chief be authorized to form and 
fix such magazines of provisions . . . as he may judge necessary. 

June J, 1776. 

Resolved^ That the deput}^ commissaries-general, . . . make 
regular returns and reports to Congress and to the respective officers 
to whom they are deputies at least once a month, and that the princi- 
pals also make returns to Congress at the same periods. 

Ju7ie 13. 1776. 

Resolved., That the secret committee be directed to stop the exporta- 
tion of au}^ salted provisions which they may have ordered to be made 
from New York. 

Ju7ie 19, 1776. 

Resolved., That it be recommended to the assemblies and conventions 
of the Unitbd Colonies forthwith to cause a suit of clothes — of which 
the waistcoat and breeches may be made of deer leather (if to be had 
on reasonable terms), a blanket, felt hat, two shirts, two pairs of hose, 
and two pairs of shoes — to be manufactured, or otherwise procured at 
reasonable rates, in their respective colonies, for each soldier of the 
American Army enlisted therein for the present campaign, and that 
the same be baled, invoiced, and stored in suitable places, to be deliv- 
ered to the order of Congress, or the Commander in Chief of the 
American Arm}-. 

July 6, 1776. 

Resolved, That Carpenter Wharton be appointed commissary, to 
supply with rations the militia who are inuiiediately to march from 
Pennsylvania toNew Jersey, until the Commissary-General shall order 
otherwise. 



246 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

July 8, 1776. 

Resolved., . . . That the Commissary-General have full power 
to supply both armies — that upon the lakes as well as that in New 
York — and also to appoint and employ such persons under him, and 
to remove any deputy commissary, as he shall judge proper and 
expedient, it being absolutely necessary that the supply of both armies 
should be under one direction. 

M/ 31, 1776. 

Resolved^ . . . That the delegates of that State [North Carolina] 
employ some proper person, as a commissary, to purchase in this city, 
or the neighborhood thereof, clothing for the troops raised in that 
State for the Continental service. 

August 2, 1776. 

Resolved., . . . That the Commissary-General and deputy com- 
missaries in the several departments be directed to transmit to Con- 
gress weekly an account of the sums of money they may respectively 
receive from the paymasters. 

* * * 

That the Commissary - General, . . . deputy commissaries, 
. be directed to make monthly returns, at least, of the stores 
under their direction, and the distribution of them. 

Atigust 28, 1776. 

Resolved, That 600 pounds of gunpowder be delivered to the said 
Mease and Caldwell for the purpose of procuring deerskins to make 
breeches for the soldiery in the service of the United States; they to 
be accountable. 

That the secret committee be directed to fall upon proper ways and 
means of procuring a further supply of deerskins, for the like purpose, 
from Georgia and South Carolina. 

August 29, 1776. 

That George Measam, esq., be continued in the office of superin- 
tendent commissary of stores, except artillery stores, for the northern 
army, with the pay of 33i dollars per month. 

September 14, 1776. — Deputy Commissary Armstrong accepted his appointment. 
Septemler 23, 1776. 

Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed to devise ways and 
mens for providing clothing . . . for the Arm3\ 

The members chosen, Mr. R. H. Lee, Mr. Wythe, and Mr. R. Morris. 

Sejptemher 21/., 1776. 

Resolved, That a committee of five be appointed to devise ways and 
means for effectually providing the northern army with provisions. 

The members chosen, Mr. Eush, Mr. Hall, Mr. Chase, Mr. Johnson, 
and Mr. Stockton. 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 1247 

Septemher 25^ 17 70. 

Resolved.^ . . . That a committee of Congress, consisting of 
one delegate from each State, be appointed, with authority to employ 
proper persons to purchase, in their respective States, a sufficient num- 
ber of blankets and woolens lit for soldiers' clothes, and that they take 
the most effectual and speedy methods for getting such woolens made 
up and distributed among the regular Continental Army in such pro- 
portions as will best promote the public service, and that they also pur- 
chase all other necessary clothing for the soldiers in such proportion 
as they judge, upon the best information, will be wanted. 

That Mr. J. Mease . ... use the utmost diligence in buying, 
collecting, and getting made immediately as many more of those arti- 
cles [white shirts, shoes, and stockings] as possible, making weekly 
returns to Congress of what he obtains. 

* * -X- 

Resolved^ That the commissaries ... in the several depart- 
ments be directed to apply to Mr. Mease for such articles of clothing, 
camp equipage, and other utensils which they may want to purchase 
in the State of Pennsylvania for the use of the Army. 

Congress then proceeded to the appointment of the committee, when 
the following gentlemen were chosen, viz: 

Mr. Bartlett, Mr. Paine, Mr. Ellery, Mr. Williams, Mr. Floyd, Mr. 
Stockton, Mr. Ross, Mr. McKean, Mr. Paca, Mr. Wythe, Mr. Hewes, 
Mr. Middletou, and Mr. Hall. 

Octoher 8, 1776. 

Resolved., That for the further encouragement of the noncommis- 
sioned officers and soldiers who shall engage in the service during the 
war a suit of clothes be annually given each of the said officers and 
soldiers, to consist, for the present year, of two linen hunting shirts, 
two pairs of overalls, a leathern or woolen waistcoat with sleeves, one 
pair of breeches, a hat or leathern hat, two shirts, two pairs of hose, 
and two pairs of shoes, amounting, in the whole, to the value of twenty 
dollars. ... 

October 5, 1776. 

Resolved., . . . That a commissary of clothing be appointed for 
(nich of the armies of the United States, whose dut}^ shall be to make 
constant returns to the assemblies or conventions of the respective 
States of the clothing wanted for their several regiments, to receive 
and pay for the same, to deliver it to the paymasters of the respective 
regiments. ... 

That the Commissary-General be empowered to appoint as many 
conductors for the commissary of stores and assistants to the commis- 
sary of clothing as he shall, from time to time, judge necessary, and 
report their names to Congress. 

That there be a deputy commissary of stores for the Army at New 
York, with the pay of thirty dollars a month. 

Octoler 10, 1770. 

Resolved, That three members be added to the committee of cloth- 
ing, in the room of those who are absent. 

The members chosen, Mr. Witherspoon, Mr. Stone, and Mr. Penn. 



248 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Octoher 11, 1776. 

Resolved, That General Washington be empowered to appoint a 
deputy commissary of stores for the army near New York. 

October!' 16, 1776. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a commissary of clothing for 
the northern army; and, the ballots being taken, 

George Measam was elected. 

Resolved, That George Measam be allowed the pay and rations of a 
major in the Continental service. 

* * * 

Resolved, That General Washington be empowered to appoint a 
commissary of clothing for the Army under his immediate com- 
mand. . 

Octoher- 17, 1776. 

Resolved, That a commissary be appointed to supply the battalion 
commanded by Colonel Mackay with provisions. 
The ballots being taken, 
Ephraim Blaine, esq,, was elected. 

Octoher n, 1776. 

Resolved, That the deputy commissar3'^-general in Virginia be 
directed to make contracts for the supply of the troops in that depart- 
ment, provided they can be made at a rate not exceeding eight pence, 
Virginia currency, a ration, the contractors to have the use of the 
public wagons on any motion or march of the Army from the place or 
places where stationed. 

That the commander in chief of each department be empowered, at 
the instance of the Conunissary-General or his deputies, to employ as 
many persons under him or them at such salary or wages as he shall 
think adequate and as he may think the service from time to time 
requires. * 

Resolved, . . . That the rations allowed to the several officers 
on the staff in the Army of the United States, not heretofore settled, 
be as follows, and that the deputy commissary of Virginia be informed 
thereof: 

To the depute commissary-general, 6 rations; . . . that the 
deputy commissary-general of Virginia be allowed his reasonable 
travelling charges. . . . 

Octoher m, 1776. 

The secret committee reported that the cargo lately arrived at Ports- 
mouth in the brig Manpiis of Kildare, Captain Palmer, consists of the 
following articles, viz: ... 4 to 500 jackets, 100 knapsacks, 100 
le^gins, ... 2 bales of woolens, 1 bale of linens, . . . 

Whereupon, 

Resolved, That . . . 100 knapsacks, 100 leggins, ... be 
sent to the Northern Army, under General Schuyler and General Gates. 

That the jackets, if fit for soldiers, be sent to the Northern 
Army. . . . 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPAETMENT. 249 

That the two bales of woolens be made up into soldiers' clothes for 
the Northern Army. 

That the bale of linens, if fit for soldiers' shirts or other purposes 
for the Army, be made up and sent to the Northern Army. . . . 

Novemher .^, 1776. 

Besolvfid, That clothing be provided for the new Army by the Con- 
tinent and paid for by stoppag-es out of the soldier's wages at If dol- 
lars per month; that as nuich as possible of the cloth for this purpose 
be d3^ed brown and the distinctions of the regiments made in the 
facings. 

That a man who brings a good new blanket into the camp be allowed 
two dollars therefor, and take it away at the end of the campaign. 

Mt'solved., That in order to supply the Army with provisions the 
Commissary-General be directed to cause cattle and hogs to be driven, 
at proper seasons, to the camp, these to be slaughtered and cured, and 
as to the articles of bread and flour that he proceed in the way that 
he has done for some time past. 

Noveyifiber 19^ 1776. 

Resolved.^ That the Commissary-General or his deputies make weekly 
returns of all rations issued or paid to the officers and privates of any 
regiment, troop, or company in the service of the States to the Adjutant- 
General or his deputies, to be by him inserted in the general returns 
of the Army and transmitted to Congress monthly. 

Novemher 22, 1776. 

Resolved, That the commissaries in each department be directed to 
employ proper persons to take immediate charge of the hides and tal- 
low in their respective districts, that the former may be tanned into 
leather or, at least, so far cured as to prevent their being spoiled, and 
the latter rendered into kegs or casks, that there be no waste of those 
valuable articles, but that they may be stored for the use of the con- 
tinent and be subject to the orders of Congress, and that said commis- 
saries be strongly urged to pay due attention to this resolve, it being 
a matter of considerable importance. 

Novemher 22, 1776. — Messrs. Paca, of Maryland; Ross, of Pennsylvania, and Wither- 
spoon, of New Jersey, were constituted a committee to repair to General Washington's 
headquarters to confer with and assist him in improving the present state of the Army, 
which, owing to past and future disbandments, may be met by a largely superior 
force. 

Novemher 26, 1776. 

Resolved, That Mr. Mease, the Continental commissar}^ in the city 
of Philadelphia, be directed to go to the several shops and stores in the 
said city and purchase for the use of the Army of the United States 
such articles as are necessary for them at this and the approaching 
season of the year, and that he be empowered to employ as many per- 
sons as he shall judge necessary to assist him in this service. 

That the council of safety of Pennsylvania be requested, with all 
possible expedition, to cause application to be made to the housekeepers 
and others iu the said State for as many blankets and woolen stockings 



250 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

as each can spare for the use of the soldiers under the immediate com- 
mand of General Washington in New Jersey, and that they be deliv- 
ered as fast as collected to Mr, Mease, the Continental commissary. 

That it be recommended to the said council of safety to appoint per- 
sons to appraise the blankets and woolen stockings so collected, as 
aforesaid, that the value of them may be paid. 

Novemler 27, 1776. 

A letter from Mr. Ross, Mr. Paca, and Mr. Witherspoon was read, 
informing that they have been appointed an assistant . . . com- 
missary, to provide for a number of sick and take care of stores sent 
to Princeton. 

Ordered^ That the President inform them that Congress approves 
of the appointments. 

Novend)er 28, 1776. 

Resoh^ed, That the Commissary-General be empowered to import 
such quantities of rice from the Southern States as he shall think 
necessary for the use of the Army. 

November 29, 1776. — -Congress ordered that a garden be kept on the grounds of 
hospitals on Mount Independence to supply vegetables for the Army. 

Decendu'v 7, 1776. 

Resolved. That the secret committee be directed to appoint one or 

more trusty person to proceed to the Eastern States, . . . and 

that the said person or persons have power to purchase, or cause to 

be purchased, such necessary clothing as can be procured in those 

States, . 

* * * 

Resolved, . . . That Mr. J. Mease be directed to purchase all 
the hats and caps he can procure proper for soldiers, and to employ 
as great a number of taylors as possible in making up clothes for 
soldiers. 

December 12, 1776. — Owing to the approach of the enemy, Congress ordered that 
the clothing in and near Philadelphia be put under control of General Putnam, who 
was charged Avith the defense of the city. 

Decemher "21, 1776. 

Resolved, That proper magazines of provisions for the Army be 
immediately formed in or near Philadelphia. . . . 

Decemher 24, 1776. — The magazines provided for by resolve of December 21 were 
to be magazines of provisions. The report, if any was made vmder this resolve, 
does not appear to be of record. 

Decemher 26, 1776. 

Resoliwl, That J. Trum])ull, esq., be empowered to import, at the 
Continental risk, from Virginia and Maryland and the other Southern 
States, such quantities of flour and other provisions as he may judge 
necessary for the support of the Army. 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 251 

December 27, 1776. 

Besolved.^ . . . That General Washington be empowered to 
appoint ... a clothier-general for supplying the Army, to fix 
their salaries, and return their names to Congress. 



Becemher 28, 1776. 

Remlved, That in the opinion of (Congress the Northern Army may 
be supplied more advantageously and conveniently in the present mode 
of the Commissary-General's governing himself by such regulations 
as have been and may be from time to tune ordained by the General 
or Commander in Chief than by contractors. 

December 30, 1776. 

Resolved, That a letter be written to General Washington desiring 
him to order the clothier-general to send agents into each State to buy 
up linens and other clothing proper for the soldiery; . . . and that 
they be severally directed to apply to the States to afford all necessary 
assistance therein. 

December 30, 1776. — It appearing extremely difficult, if not impracticable, to sup- 
ply the Army with bacon, salt beef, pork, soap, tallow, and candles. Congress resolved: 
"That none of the said articles, except such as may be necessary for the crew of any 
ship or vessel, be exported from any of the United States after the 5th of January, 
1777, until the first day of November next, or until Congress shall take further action 
therein." 

December 31, 7776.— ^Congress desired General Washington to order the clothier- 
general to send agents into each State to buy up linen and other clothing proper for 
soldiery. 

January 8, 1777. 

Resolved, . . . That Colonel Morgan appoint a proper person 
deput}^ commissary for providing and taking care of the provisions 
for the garrisons upon the western frontiers of Virginia and to take 
care of the provisions and other Continental stores laid up at those 
places, for Indian expeditions and other public purposes. 

January 30, 1777. 

Resolved, . . . That the salary of Mr. Commissary Aylett . . . 
be augmented to the sum of 75 dollars per month. . . . 

February o, 1777. 

Resolved, That William Aylett, esq., deputy commissary -general, be 
directed forthwith to purchase, witli as nuich secrecy as possible, and 
lay up in proper magazines, convenient to water carriage, under the 
care and management of trusty storekeepers, a quantity of good mer- 
chantable Indian corn, not exceeding 10,000 barrels. 
* * . * 

Resolved, That the commissioners at the Court of France be directed 
to use their utmost endeavors to send, without delay, 80,000 blankets, 
40,000 complete suits of clothes for soldiers, of green, blue, and brown 



252 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

colors, with suitable facings and cloth of the same colors, with trim- 
minofs sufficient for 40,000 suits more, 100,000 pairs of stockings fit for 
soldiers, ... to such parts of the United States as the secret 
committee shall direct; . 

February m, 1777. 

Resolved^ That General Schuyler be empowered to make the most 
advantageous use of the salt springs mentioned in his letter of the 23d 
of January last; to employ proper persons, skilled in making salt, and 
to purchase boilers and other things necessary for the purpose. 

March 12, 1777. 

Resolved., That it be recommended to the legislatures, or, in their 
recess, to the executive powers of each of the United States, to cause 
assessments of blankets to be made, in order to furnish their several 
quotas of soldiers with an article so necessary to defend them from the 
inclemency of the weather and damp air in their encampments, and 
that all blankets to be obtained in this manner be valued to a just and 
reasonable price, and paid for by the States, respectively, to be repaid 
by the United States, and that the legislatures, or, in their recess, the 
executive power, do cause money to be put into the hands of a proper 
officer in every county, district, or township in order that such l)lankets 
may be paid for, without delay or trouble, to the householders on 
whom the assessments shall be made. 

March 31, 1777. 

Congress having received advice that the ship Mercury, of Nantz, is 
arrived at Portsmouth, in New Hampshire, with a cargo for the United 
States, consisting of ... 48 bales of woolens, 9 bales of hand- 
kerchiefs, thread, cottons, and printed linens, 2 cases of shoes, 1 box 
of buttons and buckles, 1 box of lawns, and one case of needles and silk 

neckcloths, 

* * * 

Ordered, That the secret committee deliver . . . the remainder 
of the cargo [as above] to the clothier- general or his order. 

April 1, 1777. 

Resolved, That Ephraim Blaine, esq. , be appointed commissary for 
supplying with provisions the troops now in the coinity of Cum'oer- 
land, in Pennsylvania, and such as may hereafter march through that 
county, as well as the artificers and troops who shall be employed in 
the magazine and laboratory to be erected at Carlisle. 



April .^, 1777. 

Resolved, . . . That the issuing commissaries be obliged to 
deliver monthly to the Commissary-General of Musters an abstract of 
the rations drawn or retained ])y the several regiments. 

April 4, 1777. — General Washington, agreeably to the powers vested in him, lately- 
appointed James Mease clothier-general for the American Army. 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT, 253 

April 18, 1777. 

Remlved, That a member ]»e added to the Committee on the Commis- 
sary's Department. . . . 

Tlie member chosen, Mr. Roberdeau. 

* * * 

Resolved., That a committee of iive be appointed to devise ways and 
means of supplying the Army with fresh beef on the most reasonable 
terms. 

The members chosen, Mr. Burke, Mr. Sherman, Mr. L. Morris, Mr. 
E. H. Lee, and Mr. Rumsey. 

April 18, 1777. — John Armstrong, who was appointed brigadier-general March 1, 
1776, resigned April 4, 1777, and, in the absence of a regnlar inspector, was requested 
by Congress to inspect the magazines of provisions under the care of Commissary 
Wharton, authorizing him to call on the commissaries for all necessary information, 
and, if he found the magazines in a perishing or neglected state, to take proper steps 
for their regulation. Commissary "Wharton and his deputies were ordered to pay 
due obedience to his directions. 

April 19, 1777. 

Resolved, That three members be added to the said committee [on the 
commissary's department]. 

The members chosen, Mr. Duane, Mr. W. Smith, and Mr. Gerry. 

April 21, 1777. 

Resolved, That James Mease, clothier-general, be directed to deliver 
to General Mifflin, Quartermaster-General, or his order, all the cloth 
in his possession lit for tents. 

AjMl m, 1777. 

Resolved, That the Committee on the Commissary's Department and 
the committee appointed to devise means for supplying the Arm}' with 
fresh beef be consolidated, and that Mr. Trumbull be directed to con- 
fer with the said committee. 

May 3, 1777. 

Resolved, That Christopher Ludwlg be appointed superintendent of 
bakers and director of baking in the Grand Army of the United States; 
that he have power to license, with the approbation of the Commander 
in Chief or officer commanding at any principal post, all persons to be 
employed in this business, and to regulate their pay, making proper 
report of his proceedings, and using his best endeavors to rectify all 
abuses in the article of Toread. 

That no person be permitted to exercise the trade of baker in the 
said Army without such license; and that he receive for his services 
herein an allowance of 75 dollars a month and two rations a da,j. 

Hay 8, 1777. 

Ordered, . . . That the said [secret] committee furnish the 
clothier-general with copies of the invoices of all clothing and articles 
that relate to his department [recentl}^ imported from France], that 
he ma}" give the proper orders relative thereto. 



254 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

May U, 1777. 

Resolved, . . . The Commander in Chief and the commander in 
any separate department .shall be authorized to alloAv such quantities 
of forage and for and during such times as the}' shall think proper, to 
the . . . CommissarA'-General and his deputies . . . Pro- 
vided, always, That if any of the officers alcove mentioned, their depu- 
ties, or assistants should be allowed forage in consequence of any 
general orders hereafter given, and should nevertheless not keep any 
or so many horses as they would be permitted to draw forage for, in 
such case no forage shall be issued for more horses than they really 
have, nor shall they at an}^ time thereafter be allowed an}^ forage as 
back allowance or any money in lieu thereof. 

Mail SO, 1777. — "The Commissary-General is to adopt every means in his power 
to provide vinegar for the use of the Army." {Orders, General Headquarters, Mld- 
dlcbrook. ) 

dime o^ 1/ i / . 

JResolved, That a committee of three be appointed to devise ways 

and means for supplying the United States with salt. 

The members chosen, Mr. J. B. Smith, Mr. Marchant, and Mr. 

Frost. 

* * * 

Resolved^ That a committee of three be appointed to devise ways 
and means for supplying the Army with shoes, hats, and shirts. 
The members chosen, Mr. Sherman, Mr. Clark, and Mr. J. B. Smith. 

June /, In /. 

Resolved., That the clothier-general furnish each noncommissioned 
officer and soldier enlisted in the Army of the United States, to serve 
three years or during the war, with the articles of clothing' enumerated 
by a resolution of Congress of the 8th Octol)er last, or other clothing 
of equal value, notwithstanding the same cost more than 20 dollars. 

June 10, 1777. 

Resolved., 1. That for supplying the Army of the United States with 
provisions,, one Commissarj'^-General and four deputy commissaries- 
general of purchases, and one commissary -general and three deputy 
commissaries-general of issues, be appointed by Congress. 

II. That each of the said commissaries and deputy commissaries be 
authorized to appoint for himself one clerk. 

III. That the deputy commissaries-general have authority to appoint 
as many assistant commissaries to act under them as may from time to 
time be necessary, and the same to displace at pleasure, making returns 
thereof to the conmiissaries-general, respectively, who shall have full 
power to limit their numbers, to displace such as they shall think disquali- 
fied for the trust, and direct their respective deputy commissaries-gen- 
eral to appoint others in their stead; that special care be taken by the 
officers empowered as aforesaid to appoint none but persons of prob- 
ity, capacity, vigilance, and attachment to the United States, and the 
cause they are engaged in, and to make returns to the Board of War, 
the Commander in Chief, aud the commander of the respective depart- 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 255 

ments, of the assistant commissaries by them respectively appointed, 
their several places of alKxle, the time of their appointment and dis- 
mission, and the post, place, magazine, or district to which they are 
se\'erally assigned; and that the deputy commissaries-general of pur- 
chases and issues in the same district make similar returns to each 
other. 

IV. That the commissary-general of purchases shall superintend the 
deputy connuissaries-general of purchases, and assign to each a separate 
district, who shall constantly reside therein, and not make any pur- 
chases ])eyond the limits thereof; and every purchaser employed therein 
shall also have a certain district assigned to him by the respective 
deputy commissary -general, in which he shall reside, and beyond the 
limits of which ho shall not be permitted to make any purchases, unless 
by special order of his superior, directing the quantity and quality of 
provisions so to be purchased beyond his limits, and informing such 
])urchaser of the prices given by the stationed purchaser in the district 
to which he may be sent. 

V. That the commissary-general of purchases shall direct the deputy 
commissaries-general in their respective districts to inform themselves 
and assistant, as nearly as may be, of the prices for which the articles 
which they are to procure may be purchased, and that neither they 
nor any of the said assistants employed under their direction exceed 
such prices; and if any deputy commissary-general of purchases shall 
neglect his duty, or be guilty of an}' fraud or misconduct in his office, 
the Commissary-General may suspend him, and shall immediately cer- 
tify the same to Congress, with the reasons for such suspension, and 
appoint a person to act in his stead, with all the powers of a deputy 
commissary -general, until the sense of Congress shall be known thereon. 

VI. That the present Commissary-General, by himself or his depu- 
ties, deliver unto the commissary-general of issues, or his deputies or 
assistants, all and ever}' kind of provisions and other public stores in 
the Commissary-Generars Department, that are now, or at the time 
such delivery shall be made, may be, in any of the posts, places, mag- 
azines, and storehouses belonging to the United States, taking dupli- 
cate receipts for the same, one set whereof, together with a general 
return of all stores so delivered, to be sent to the Board of Treasur}^, 
that the commissary-general of issues may be charged therewith. 

VII. That it shall be the duty of the commissary-general of pur- 
chases, with the assistance of the deputy commissaries-general and 
assistant commissaries-general of purchases, to purchase all provisions 
and other necessaries allowed, or which may hereafter ])c allowed by 
Congress to the troops of the United States, and deliver the same to 
the commissary-general of issues or his deputies or assistants in such 
cjuantities, and at such places or magazines as the Commander in Chief 
or the conmiander in the respective department shall direct. 

VIII. That the commissary-general of issues shall direct the respec- 
tive deput}' commissaries-general to station one of their assistants at 
every fort, post, place, or magazine where provisions are or may be 
stored. 

IX. That the commissary -general of purchases shall furnish each of 
the deputy commissaries-general and assistants with a book in which 
is to be entered every purchase l>y them respectively made, and that 
all the accounts ma}^ be kept in the same form, he shall cause the 
pages of such book to be divided into ten columns — in the first of 



256 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF IT. S. ARMY. 

which shall be entered the year, month, and day in which any purchase 
is made; in the second, the names of the persons from whom; in the 
third, in what place; in the fourth, the species and quantity of pro- 
visions, and if live stock, the number, color, and natural marks; in 
the fifth, the artificial marks and number; in the sixth, the prices; in 
the seventh, the amount of the purchase mone}"; in the eighth, ninth, 
and tenth, the weight of the meat, hides, and tallow of the live stock, 
as hereafter directed; and the commissary-general of issues shall fur- 
nish each of the issuing deputy commissaries-general and assistants 
with a similar book, in which shall bo entered all provisions received 
by them from the purchasers, respectively, the first column to contain 
the time of receiving such provisions; the second, the name of the pur- 
chaser, and in each of the other columns the entries before directed. 

X. That each purchaser shall enter, in dift'erent pages of the said 
book, each species of provisions by him purchased, and, at the end of 
every month, shall foot and transfer the said entries to a general 
account, specifying the quantity, amount, and average cost of each 
article, and shall also, in the course of the next succeeding month, send 
a copy of sucli account to the respective deputy commissaries-general, 
who shall thereupon make out a monthly return of all the provisions 
purchased in his district, specifying the quantity, amount, and average 
cost of each species, as before directed, together with a copy of each 
purchaser's accounts, to the board of war and commissarj^-general of 
purchases within the time limited as aforesaid, 

XI. That the purchasing commissaries shall deliver live stock and 
other provisions required by the commissary or several deputy com- 
missaries-general of issues at such place as they shall respectively 
direct. 

XII. That the deputy commissary-general of purchases in each dis- 
trict shall specially appoint one or more assistants to purchase live 
stock, who shall cause to be branded on the horns of all cattle by them 
purchased the number and initial letter of their names, respectively, 
and shall also have power to employ drovers and a person at each 
place to which they may respectively be directed to send cattle, to 
receive, kill, and deliver the same, as hereafter directed. 

XIII. That each drove of live stock, or quantity of provisions, or 
other stores that may be sent to any post, place, or magazine Iw any 
purchaser shall be accompanied with duplicate invoices taken from 
the entries directed to be made in the books of the purchasing com- 
missaries, one of which, together with the live stock or other stores, 
shall be delivered at such post, place, or magazine, to the person 
appointed to receive live stock or to the issuing commissaries, respec- 
tively, who, on the other hand, shall give his receipt for the articles 
received, to be transmitted to the purchaser by the person delivering 
the said articles: Provided^ That if an}^ live stock under the care of 
the drover shall be wanted at any other post than that to which they 
were ordered the purchaser's deputy at such post may detain them, 
taking a copy of the invoice as far as it respects the live stock detained 
and giving his receipt for the same on the back of the said invoice, 
specifying their marks and numbers, and the person to whom the 
residue may be delivered shall give his receipt therefor on the same 
invoice, and detain the other for his use as aforesaid. 

XIV. That each drove of live stock shall ho killed under the direc- 
tion of the purchaser's deputy receiving the same, who shall weigh and 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 257 

deliver the meat to the comniis.sary of issues of the respective posts, 
together witli duplicates of the invoice left l)y the drover, entering- in 
the eighth column the weight of the quarters of the several creatures; 
in the ninth, the weight of the hide; in the tenth, the weight of the 
tallow, and at the foot of each invoice the number of heads and 
tongues; and the commissary of issues shall indorse his receipt on one 
of the invoices and deliver it to the deputy aforesaid, who shall return 
it to the purchaser as his voucher and to enable him to fill up the 
eighth, ninth, and tenth columns of the entries in his book, and the 
other shall be kept by the issuing conmiissary for his own use. 

XV. That the commissary-general of purchases shall contract, by 
himself or the respective deputy commissaries-general, with one or 
moi-e persons in each district to make or suppl}^ a sufficient ([uantity 
of vinegar for the use of the Army. 

XVI. That the clcputv commissaries-general of purchases take special 
care to procure full supplies of vegetables, as being essentially neces- 
sary to the health of the Army; and they are respectively empowered 
and directed, with the advice of the commander in chief or commander 
of the respective district, to hire land therein, and raise such quanti- 
ties of vegetables as are wanted and can not be otherwise procured for 
the Army; and for this purpose to employ suitable persons to conduct 
and laborers to assist in carrying on the said business. 

XVII. That the commissary -general of purchases shall, from time 
to time, apply to Congress for all the money wanted in his depart- 
ment, and shall make the necessar}^ advances to the respective deputy 
commissaries-genei'al, calling them to account as often as he shall judge 
it necessary; and the deputy commissaries-general shall, in like man- 
ner, make advances of the money received of the said commissary- 
general to their respective assistants, and call them to account as 
aforesaid. 

XVIII. That the commissary and deputy commissaries-general of 
purchases and issues shall respectively be accountable for the conduct 
of the officers of their own appointment, and all the accounts of pur- 
chases and issues shall, once in six months, be settled by the respective 
commissaries-general with the proper commissioners of accounts; 
each account of purchases to be vouched by the several bills and 
receipts of the venders, specifying the cost, and the receipts of the 
issuing commissaries, showing the delivery of all articles therein 
charged; and each account of issues by the victualling returns here- 
after directed to be made, and receipts for all provisions charged 
therein as rations, or sent by the respective issuing commissary to any 
other; and the commissaries-general shall produce the monthly returns 
of the several purchasing and issuing conmiissaries, to be used by the 
connnissioners in adjusting their respective accounts. 

XIX. That the conmiissaries-general of purchases and issues and 
their respective deputies, for neglect of duty or other oflences in their 
respective offices, shall l)e subject to military arrest and trial, by order 
of the Commander in Chief or any general officer commanding a divi- 
sion of the Army, post, or department where such neglect of duty or 
offence may happen; and the respective assistants of the deputy com- 
missaries-general of purchases and issues shall, for the same causes, be 
liable to military arrest as connnissioned officers in the Army by any 
general officer or any officer connuanding a detached post to which such 
assistants may be assigned. 

S. Doc. 229 17 



258 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

XX. That the commissary-general of issues shall superintend the 
respective deputy commissaries-general and assign to each a separate 
district, and have full powers to suspend them and appoint others for 
a time, as already appointed for the commissarj^-general of purchases. 

XXI. That every issuing commissary shall enter in distinct pages 
of the book mentioned in the ninth article each species of provisions 
or other stores received by him, including the provisions delivered by 
other issuing commissaries or the present Commissary-General, and the 
same entries shall be made with respect to these as therein are directed 
when provisions are received from the purchasers, excepting that the 
prices and cost of articles delivered 1)}^ the said commissaries may be 
omitted. 

XXII. That every issuing commissary shall be furnished with a book 
of issues, in which he shall open a separate account with each regiment, 
corps, or detachment to which he may issue or commissary to which 
he may send or deliver piovisions; and each page thereof shall be 
divided into columns, in the first of which shall he entered the time of 
delivery, in the second the name of the officer upon whose return pro- 
visions ai'e issued or by whom sent to any other issuing commissary, 
in the third the number of rations, and in other separate colunuis the 
several quantities of each species of provisions delivered as rations or 
sent to the commissaries as aforesaid. And on the last day of every 
month he shall foot the said accounts and also all the accounts of provi- 
sions received and entered in the book mentioned in the preceding 
article. 

XXIII. That every issuing commissary shall take duplicate receipts 
for each quantity of provisions and stores by him sent to any post, 
place, or magazine, agreeably to the form of the entries directed to be 
made in the book of issues, one of which he shall deliver to the officer 
or person employed to deliver said provisions or stores; and the issu- 
ino- commissary at such post, place, or magazine, or at any intermediate 
post, who may recei\'e such provisions or stores or any part thereof, 
shall certify the qutintity on the back of the said receipt, which the 
officer or person who delivered the provisions shall return to the com- 
missary that sent them as his voucher; and in cases of deficiency the 
commissary w^ho sent the provisions shall credit the commissary to 
whom they were directed for the quantity lost, if the same has been 
placed to his debit, and shall charge twice the amount thereof to the 
account of the officer or pi^rson emploj^ed to deliver it, and shall also 
transmit a copy of the said account to the paymaster or deputy pay 
master-general in the district, who shall send to the issuing commissary 
a receipt for such account, to be produced Ijy him on settlement, and 
shall also deduct the amount thereof from the pay of the delinquent 
and credit the United States therefor: Proiuded^ That if any provi 
sions or stores shall be lost by unavoidable accident and the same i. 
proved by sworn evidences l)efore the commanding officer of the post 
from or to which such provisions or stores were sent, his certificate, 
with the proof annexed, shall authorize the commissary to cancel such 
charge. 

XXIV. That no provisions be issued to any person but by the writ- 
ten order of the Commander in Chief, the commander of any depart- 
ment, the Quartermaster-General, any of his deputies or assistants, the 
commanding officer of a post, describing the person in whose favor 
such order shall be given, or upon a return signed by the commanding 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPAETMENT. 259 

officer of a corps or detachment thereof, whether commissioned or non- 
commissioned, or by the regimental quartermaster. 

XXV. That when any troops are ordered to quit a post and the issu- 
ing commissary remains at such post, the respective commanding 
officers of the several regiments or corps shall call on the issuing com- 
missary for a certificate specifying the day to which they were vict- 
ualled, inclusively; and in case detachments of different regiments or 
corps are made, the conunanding officer of such detachments shall pro- 
cure a certificate from the commissary, in which shall be inserted the 
days to which the different troops of which his detachment may be 
composed were victualled, and the next and every subsequent provision 
return for such detachment shall distinguish the corps out of which it 
is formed and the number of each corps, to the end that the commissary 
may charge each corps with the provision issued to it; and if an}^ com- 
missary at any other post shall victual any corps or detachment com- 
prehended in the foregoing description before such certificates are 
produced he shall charge the officer commanding the same with twenty 
days' provision for the whole number of men under his care and make 
return thereof to the Paymaster-General or deputy paymaster-general 
in the district, who shall make the proper stoppages, and also to the 
Board of Treasury, who shall charge him therefor: Provided^ That if 
such certificates be procured and delivered within thirty days after the 
first drawing of such provisions without certificate, the Commissary- 
General shall cancel the charge, keeping the certificate as a voucher 
for so doing: Provided also. That notwithstanding such certificate 
may be produced, if it shall appear that the officer commanding any 
corps or detachment has drawn more provis'ion than the corps or 
detachment was entitled to, he shall stand charged the double quantity 
so overdrawn. 

XXVI. That every issuing commissary shall take receipts for the 
number of rations and for so much of every species of provisions as 
he may issue. 

XXVII. That every issuing commissar}^, on the last drawing day 
preceding the last drawing day of every month, shall victual the troops 
up to the last day of the month, inclusive; and if provisions should be 
ordered for troops going on detachments, for such time as would run 
beyond that day, two returns shall be made out, one to the last day of 
the month, inclusive, and one from the first day of the month, inclusive, 
to the time ordered. 

XXVIII. That every issuing commissary shall number the provi- 
sion returns, and endorse the same with the date thereof and the 
number of men victualled, and put the returns of each detachment or 
corps on separate files, each to contain the returns of a month for such 
corps or detachment. 

XXIX. That wherever an}- capital magazine shall be established, 
the Commander in Chief, or commanding officer of the department, 
shall order storehouses to be built, and a barrack for fifty men, and 
the same to be enclosed with a stockade. 

XXX. That whenever any provisions or stores in an}- of the maga- 
zines become so damaged as to threaten a total loss of all such damaged 
provisions, the commissary of issues to whose care such provisions 
may be committed shall make return thereof immediately to the 
deputy conmiissary-general of issues, who is to apph' to the Com- 
mander in Chief, or some general officer, to order a court of enquiry, 



260 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

who shall thereupon grant one, and such provisions as ma,y by the 
court be condemned shall be sold at public vendue, under the direc- 
tion of the deputy commissary-general of issues, public notice being 
given of such sale by advertisements at least ten da3^s before the da}'' 
of sale, unless the court should determine that the same ought to be 
sold at an earlier day. 

XXXI. That every assistant commissary of issues shall, within six 
days after the last day of ever}^ month, make a return to the deput}^ 
commissary-general of the district of all provisions and stores in his 
magazine or store at the last preceding I'eturn; of all provisions by 
him received in the preceding month; from whom and whence; of 
what ho has issued, specifying the regiment and corps and the number 
of rations and the quantity of each species of provisions drawn by the 
same, and of what remains in store. 

XXXII. That each deputy commissary -general of issues shall, from 
the monthly returns of the assistant commissaries, make out a general 
return for the district, specif3nng what remained in the magazines or 
stores at the last return, what has been received since, the number of 
rations and quantity of provisions issued, and what remains in store, 
distinguishing the several posts, places, magazines, and regiments, or 
corps as aforesaid; one to ])e sent to the Board of War, one to the Com- 
mander in Chief, one to the conmiander of the department, one to the 
commissary-general of purchases, and one to the commissary -general 
of issues. 

XXXIII. That the commissary-general of purchases and commis- 
sar}^ -general of issues, each in his own department, make a general 
monthly return to the Board of War, the Connnander in Chief, and the 
commanding officer of the respective districts, and take special care 
constantly to provide and furnish each of the officers under him with 
printed forms of the books, invoices, receipts, and returns to be used 
by them respectively, agreeable to these resolves. 

XXXIV. That no returns of rations drawn or returned l)y the sev- 
eral regiments be hereafter made by the issuing commissaries to the 
commissar3^-general of musters, or by him to the Adjutant-General, 
or by the Adjutant-General to the Board of W^ar, as directed in the 
regulations in the mustei'-master-generaFs department passed by Con- 
gress the 4th day of April last. 

XXXV. That the commissaries-general and the respective officers 
under them apply to the Quartermaster-General or his respective offi- 
cers for wagons, teams, and horses wanted in the several districts; and 
if at any time it shall be necessary to hire the same they are not to 
exceed the rates stipulated by Congress or the Quartermaster-General 
aforesaid. 

XXXVI. That all persons employed to purchase for the United 
States any articles in the several departments of the commissary -gen- 
eral of purchases, quartermaster, director, or clothier general, or the 
commissary-general of military stores shall previously apply to them 
or the principal officers under them, respectively, for certificates of 
the several prices by them allowed for such articles, and shall not, on 
any pretence whatsoever, exceed such prices. And it is recommended 
to the several States to give their purchasers, respectively, similar 
directions. 

XXXVII. That the commissary-general of purchases from time to 
time provide sufficient quantities of salt and deliver it to the commis- 
sary-general of issues or the respective officers under him, who are 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 261 

directed to issue to the troops onl}" such quantities and in such manner 
as the Commander in Chief or commander of the respective district 
shall direct. And the commissarj'-general of issues shall direct the 
respective deput}' commissaries-general to employ a suitable number 
of coopers and packers, who shall salt and pack provisions at the sev- 
eral mag-fizines and stores and take the proper precautions with respect 
to all provisions therein deposited. 

XXXVIII. And whereas great confusion hath arisen from the man- 
ner in which officers and soldiers have been paid for rations and parts 
of rations allowed to but not drawn b}" them, respectively: 

Hesolved, That the parts of a ration be estimated as follows, viz: 
For the daily allowance of beef, pork, or lish, -I-Doth of a dollar; of 
bread or flour, ^-90th; of peas or beans, l-90th; of milk. l-i)Oth; of 
beer, l-9()th; of rice, one-half of l-90th; and of soap, one-half of l-90th, 
making- in the whole 10-90ths of a dollar for each ration; and that for 
the future the quarteamaster, or other person drawing- provision for 
an}" regiment, corps, or detachment, shall, on the last day of every 
month, make out an abstract of the number of retained rations due to 
each officer, respectively, and also the number of each part of ratio. i 
due to such regiment, corps, or detachment, and deliver the same to 
the respective issuing commissary, who shall compare it with his books, 
and, finding it right, shall certify thereon that the several charges in 
the abstract are just, and that such a sum as he shall find to be due 
shall be paid to the respective paymaster of the regiment, corps, or 
detachment, who shall annex the said abstract to the pay roll; that the 
paymaster or depute paymaster-general of the district may pa}^, and 
he is hereb}' required to pay, such ration abstract to the regimental 
paymaster, who is directed to pay the respective officers and soldiers 
and take their receipts. And when any regiment, corps, or detach- 
ment or issuing commissary is ordered to leave a post before the end 
of the month the ration abstract shall Ije made up to the day of his or 
their leaving the post, and certified by the commissary as aforesaid. 

XXXIX. That the commissary of issues at every post where cattle 
are killed for the use of the Army appoint a careful person to take 
chargo of the hides and tallow, to see that the former are properly 
dried and that the latter is properly rendered, and that both are dis- 
posed of as the commissary-general of issues, by order of Congress, 
shall direct. 

XL. That the commissary and deput}^ commissaries-general of pur- 
chases in each department and every purchaser emploj^ed under them 
shall take the oath of fidelity to the United States. . . . 

XLI. That the commissary and deputy commissary -general of issues 
in each department and every issuing commissary employed under 
them shall take the said oath of fidelity. . . . 

June 11, 1777. 

Resolved, That the commissary -general of purchases shall keep his 
office in the place where Congress shall sit, and that he or his clerk 
constantly attend therein. 

Jine 13, 1777. 

Resolved, . . . That the agents for the United States in Europe 
and the West Indies be directed and enabled by the secret committee 
to efl'ect the importation of salt into these States, on account of the 



262 LEGISLATIVE HI8T0RY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. AEMY. 

United States, by all vessels bound for America, subject to such regu- 
lations and restrictions as the secret committee may direct; 

That it be an instj'uction to all masters of vessels taking on board 
cargoes for America on account of the United States, if possible, to 
ballast the vessels with salt, unless otherwise specially ordered; 

That it be recommended to the several States to erect and encourage, 
in the most liberal and effectual manner, proper works for the making 
of salt. 

June 16, 1777. 

Resolved., That the pay and allowance to the commissaries-general, 
deputy commissaries-general, assistants, and persons emplo3'ed under 
them be as follows, to wit: 

To the commissarj^-general of purchases, 8 dollars and six rations a 
day; 

To the deputy commissaries-general of purchases, each 5 dollars and 
four rations a day; 

To the assistant commissaries of purchases, each 4 dollars per day; 

To the commissary-general of issues, 150 dollars a month and six 
rations a day; 

To the deputy conunissaries-general of issues, each 75 dollars a 
month and four rations a day; 

To the assistant commissaries of issues, each \S) dollars a month and 
two rations a day; 

To the clerks of the commissaries-general and deput}" commissaries- 
general, each 35 dollars a month and two rations a day; 

'^o such deputies as purchasers of live stock are empowered to 
employ, for receiving the same at the several posts, each 27 dollars a 
month and two rations a day while in such service. 

Resolved., That the commissary-general of purchases be empowered 
to regulate the paj^ of drovers and butchers and transmit such regula- 
tions to Congress; 

That the commissary -general of issues in like manner be empowered 
to regulate and transmit to Congress the pay of coopers, packers, and 
other persons he may find necessary to be employed in such kind of 
services. 

June 17., 1777. 

Resolved., That the commissar3^-general of clothing be directed to 
supply the Army with a sufficient number of combs. 

June 17, 1777. — The Clothier-General having reported that he finds himself em- 
barrassed and perplexed by the occasional interferences of some States who appro- 
priate clothing, and other necessaries imported for or purchased on account of the 
continent, Congress passed a resolution that the several continental agents in the 
different States be directed to deliver out no clothing except on the express order of 
the Commissary-General or his agents, and that he be furnished with an account of 
all clothing that may be imported as expeditiously as possible after its arrival. 

Jime IS, 1777. 

Congress proceeded to the election of commissaries and deputy 
commissaries general of purchases and issues, the nominations having 
been previously made; and, the ballots being taken, the following 
gentlemen were elected, viz: 

Joseph Trumbull, esq., commissary-general of purchases; AVilliam 
Aylett, William Buchanan, Jacob Cuyler, and Jeremiah Wadsworth, 
esqs., deputy commissaries-general of purchases; 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 263 

Charles Stewart, esq., commissary -general of issues; 
William (Ireen Mumford, Matthew Irwin, and Elisha Avery, esqs., 
deputy commissaries-general of issues. 

Jime 20, 1777. 

Rcsolvefh That a suitable person be appointed commissary to receive 
all rawhides belonging to the United States, and that he be authorized 
to exchange the same for tanned leather or men's shoes, at the cus- 
tomary rates of exchange, and have the leather so obtained worked 
into shoes and deliver them to the Clothier-General or his order, taking 
duplicate receipts, which he shall transmit to the Board of Treasury; 

That when the said commissary shall be of opinion that the said 
exchanges can not be made on reasonable terms he be authorized to 
provide tanyards, materials, and workmen for that purpose, or contract 
with proper persons to tan them on reasonable terms; 

That if oil can not be procured for preparing- the curried leather, 
the said commissary be supplied with tallow out of the public stores 
to be used instead thereof, and that he draw for so much as may be 
necessary on any of the commissaries of issues, making a return of the 
quantity so drawn to the deputy commissary-general of issues in the 
district; 

That the said commissar}^ of hides shall be supplied with money for 
carrying on the said business, as occasion may require, on application 
to Congress, and that he settles his accounts with the Treasury Board 
once a year, or oftener, if required. 

That the Board of War may order the commissary of hides to deliver 
to the commissary of military stores so much of the leather in his 
hands as may be necessary for making accoutrements, etc., for the 
Ami}"; and that the said commissary shall obey such orders and direc- 
tions as may, from time to time, be given to him by the Board of War 
respecting the business of his othce and the persons necessary to be 
emploj^ed by him in the service, and make returns of his doings to the 
said board when required. 

That the secret committee import a suitable number of felt hats, not 
exceeding 50,000, and linen for as many shirts, for the use of the Army, 
and also import from the Spanish West Indies such a quantity of dried 
hides as they may judge necessary for a further supply of leather for 
shoes and other public uses. 

That it be recommended to the government of the several States to 
procure as much homemade linen, suitable for shirts for the troops, 
as may be obtained on reasonable terms in the respective States, and 
deliver the same to the Clothier-General. . . . 

That the pay of the commissary of hides be 80 dollars a month. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a commissary of hides, and, the 
ballots being taken, Peter Philips, esq., was elected. 

June 20, 1777. — The "commissary of hides" has been considered as a subordinate 
to the Commissary-General of Stores and Supplies although, from the last paragraph 
of his instructions, it is uncertain whether Congress did not make him the head of 
an independent office. 

June 22, 1777. — The president of the State of Pennsylvania notified Congress that 
John McKallister, a deputy commissary of issues, having been charged with pecula- 
tion and embezzlement of public stores and provisions, the council has suspended 
him from jiay and employment, pending action of Congress. This body tendered its 
thanks to the governor and council, and requested that they cause McKallister to be 
prosecuted at the expense of the United States. 



264 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

June m, 1777. 

Resolved., That Joseph Truml)ull, esq., and the several persons by 
him lately employed in the conmiissary's department, be directed to 
supply the Army with provisions in the mode which they have hereto- 
fore practiced until the commissaries-general on the new establishment 
shall be prepared to enter upon the business. 

June 26, 1777. — Matthew Irwin declined appointment of deputy commissary- 
general of issues. 

Jidy 7, 1777. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a deputy commissary- general 
of issues in the room of Mr. Irwin, and, the l)allots being taken, Robert 
Hoops was elected. 

July ^^ 1777. 

Resolved, That the deputy commissaries-general of purchases, respec- 
tively, be authorized to malvc reasonable allowances to such of the 
assistant commissaries as are employed in buying and collecting live 
stock for all extraordinary travelling expenses which they niay be nec- 
essarily put to, not exceeding l.^d dollar per day for such additional 
allowance. 

That there be paid to the assistant commissaries of issues each 60 
dollars a month. 

;//// /, li 1 1 . 

Refiolved, That William Buchanan, esq., deputy commissary- general 
of purchases for the Middle Department, be directed to appoint a 
proper person to supply the regiment commanded 1)y Colonel Rich- 
ardson with provisions during its continuance in Maryland and the 
State of Delaware. 

That in case Mr. Buchanan should decline acting as deput}^ commis- 
sary for the department, the governor and council of Maryland be 
authorized and requested to make the appointment of a deputy com- 
missary for the supplying Colonel Richardson's battalion with pro- 
visions during their stay in Maryland or in the State of Delaware. 

Resolved, . . . That the clothier-general be directed to appoint 
an agent in the said State [Georgia] for the purpose of supplying the 
troops there with clothes; . 

That a deputy commissary -general of purchases and a deputy com- 
missary-general of issues of provisions be appointed in the said State. 

July :iy, 1777. 

Resolved, That the secret committee be empowered to contract with 
bakers to bake into ])iscuits, for the use of the Army, the Hour which 
they were ordered to sell: 

That the commissary-general of purchases be directed to have the 
flour stored at Yorktown, Lancaster, Downingtown, and Valley Forge, 
in Pennsylvania, and which is in danger of perishing, baked into bis- 
cuit for the use of the Army. 

July 23, 1777. — The superintendent of bakers being unable to engage a numl)er of 
journeyman bakers, most of them being in the militia, Congress referred him to the 
supreme executive council of Pennsylvania, recommending to the latter to make 
details for this purpose. 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 265 

July 25, 1777. 

Resolved, That the Board of War he, empowered to contract with 
proper persons to supply the Army with beer, cyder, vegetables, soap, 
vinegar, and sour crout. 

Resolved, That General Washington be empowered to increase the 
ration of soap according to his discretion. 

Jnhi 29, 1777. — Mr. Phillips declined appointinent of commissioner of hides. 
August 2, 1777. — Commissary-General J. Trmnbull asked leave to resign on 
August 20. 

Augui^t 5, 1777. 

Resolved, That a commissary of hides be appointed in the room of 
Peter Philips, esq,, who declines acting. The ballots being taken, 
George Ewing was elected. 

* * * 

Congress proceeded to the election of officers in the Commissary's 
Department; and, the ballots being taken, 

William Buchanan, esq., was elected commissary-general of pur- 
chases. 

August 6, 1777. 

Congress proceeded to the appointment of a deputy commissary of 
purchases, a deputy connnissary -general of issues: . . . Where- 
upon, 

Resolved, That James Koe, esq., be [deputy] commissary-general 
of purchases; John Bohun Garardeau, deputy commissary-general of 
issues. . . . 

* -X- * 

Congress proceeded to the election of officers in the Commissary's 
Department; and, the ballots being taken, 

Ephraim Blaine, esq., was elected deputy commissary -general of 
purchases, in the room of Mr. Buchanan; 

Archibald Stewart, esq. , deputy commissary-general of issues, in the 
room of Mr. Hoops, who has resigned; 

James Blicker, esq., deputy commissary -general of issues, in the 
room of Mr. Avery, resigned. 

Resolved, That in case Mr. Blicker decline the office, the command- 
ing officer in the Northern Department be authorized to appoint another 
person in his stead, and inform Congress thereof. 

Resolved, That another deputy commissary -general of issues be 
appointed for the Eastern Department; and, the ballots being taken, 

Samuel Gray, esq., was elected, 

* * * 

Whereas Joseph Trumbull, esq., having resigned his commission of 
commissary-general of purchases under the new regulations, has signi- 
fied his intention of discontinuing his service under the former estab- 
lishment on the 2()th day of the present month; and whereas the 
connnissaries-general of purchases and issues who are to succeed him 
in office may not be prc^pared with their respective assistants to pro- 
ceed in the business at the time aforesaid, and a failure of supplies may 
be attended with the most dangerous consequences: 

Resolved, That Mr. Trumbull, with the officers under him, be desired 
to continue in the business of su[)plying the Army under the former 



266 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

establishment until the commissaries-general of purchases and issues 
shall signify their readiness to proceed therein under the new regula- 
tions, which they are required to do as speedily as possible. 

August 7, 1777. 

Mesol/oed, That the pay of the deputy commissaries-general of issues 
be increased to 100 dollars per month, and the pay of the clerks to the 
commissaries-general to 50 dollars a month. 

August 9, 1777. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a deputy commissary-general 
of purchases, in the room of Jeremiah Wadsworth, esq., resigned; and, 
the ballots being taken, 

Peter Colt, esq., was elected. 

August 11, 1777. — Mr. Archibald Stewart resigned the office of deputy commissary- 
general of issues. 

August 14, 1777. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a deputy commissary -general 
of issues; and, the ballots being taken, 
Robert White, esq. , was elected. 

August 28, 1777. 

Resolved, That the clothier-general be directed forthwith to inform 
himself, as nearly as may be, of the number of blankets, shoes, hose, 
and shirts that will be wanted for the troops of the United States in 
the fall and winter next ensuing, exclusive of those now in store or 
for which he has contracted; that he apply for the same to the several 
assemblies or executive authorities of the States of New Hampshire, 
Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Penn- 
sylvania, and Delaware, in proportion to the number of inhabitants of 
each State, and send to each an attested copy of this resolve; and it is 
earnestly recommended to the several States aforesaid to call on the 
inhabitants of their respective counties, cities, towns, or districts to 
manufacture or furnish their proportions of the said articles; and the 
said States are desired to appoint suitable persons to inspect the quality 
of the articles thus supplied, and to order them to be delivered to the 
clothier's agent in each State, who is hereby directed to pay for the 
same on the delivery thereof. 

That the clothier-general be directed forthwith to apply to the Com- 
mander in Chief and commander of each Continental district and 
inform himself of the number of assistant clothiers necessary for the 
Army and detached parts within their several commands; that he 
appoint, without delay, as many assistants as they may respectively 
judge necessary, and report their names to Congress; that he take 
effectual care to send to each assistant a proportion of the clothing* on 
hand and full supplies as soon as may be, ordering the said assistants 
to give receipts for the same; that he be careful to direct the several 
assistants to give each noncommissioned officer and soldier the cloth- 
ing due to him by the articles of enlistment and take receipts, and 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 267 

that they supply the Army with such other clothing- as shall be neces- 
sary at the average cost and charges thereof; that he furnish each 
assistant with the names of the noncommissioned officers and soldiers 
of the divisions or corps to which he may be assigned who have 
received the bounty of clothing, or an}^ part thereof, and also with the 
account of each officer and soldier in such division or corps who is 
indebted to the United States for articles of clothing; that he direct 
each assistant on the tirst day of every month to render to the respec- 
tive regimental paymasters in the divisions or corps to which he is 
assigned particular accounts of all the clothing for which the officers 
and men are respectively indebted; and the several regimental pay- 
masters are hereby directed to make the proper stoppages from the 
pay rolls for discharging the said accounts, and to deliver the money 
to the assistant clothiers respectively, taking their receipts an 1 deliver- 
ing them to the paymaster or deputy paymaster-general, to be filed in 
his office until required by the commissioners of accounts or other 
proper authorit}-; that the several assistants deliver the money so 
received to the clothier-general and account with him for all the 
clothing which they may receive as aforesaid. 

August 29, 1777. 

HesoVved, That each assistant clothier be allowed 50 dollars a month 
and the rations of a captain. 

August 30, 1777. 

Resolved, That the several issuing commissaries be directed to fur- 
nish the director-general, or any of the deputy directors, or their 
assistants, with such provisions as any of them shall from time to time 
demand by an order in writing for the use of any temporary hospital 
which shall be established, which order, with the receipt of the steward 
endorsed thereon, shall be a sufficient voucher for such issuing com- 
missary, who is also required to keep such vouchei's separate and make 
a separate entry of the same in his books, charging the director who 
ordered the same therewith. 

August SO, 1777. — " Information being given by the Commissary-General that it is 
at present impracticable to supply the Army daily with hard bread, the troops are 
to receive soft bread or flour as the commissaries shall be able to supply them." 
{ Orders, General Headquarters, Wilmington. ) 

Septemher 6, 1777. 

The Committee on the Treasury further report, . . . and there- 
fore it is the opinion of the committee that it be. 

Resolved, That the clothier-general be directed, as far as he shall have 
it in his power, to furnish all the noncommissioned officers and privates 
in the service of the United States who have not yet received their 
bounty of clothing, at their election, either with the several articles 
allowed by Congress in the resolution of 8th October, 1776, or in lieu 
thereof, the following articles, viz: 

One regimental coat, at 8 60-90ths dollars; one jacket without 
sleeves, 2 60-90ths dollars; one pair buckskin and two pair linen or 



268 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

woolen breeches, 8 dollars; one hat or leather cap, 2 60-90ths dollars; 
two shirts, 8 dollars; one hunting shirt, 4 dollars; two pair overalls, 
6 dollars; two pair of stockings, 4 dollars; two pair of shoes, 6 dollars; 
one blanket, 6 dollars; making in all, 56 dollars. 

But, as the cost of the articles last specified exceeds that of the cloth- 
ing allowed as a l>ounty to the troops by 8 30-90ths dollars, so much 
shall be stopped out of the pay of every noncommissioned oificer and 
private who shall be supplied in the manner last directed as will make 
the amount of clothing he shall receive equal to the value of the bounty 
of clothing, which, upon an average of the price of the several articles, 
is estimated at 47 60-90ths dollars. 

The said report and resolves being read twice, on the question put, 

Resolved^ That Congress agree to the same. 

Sefptemher 12, 1777. 

Resolved, That the commissary-general of purchases be directed to 
purchase on the most reasonable terms he can 30 hogsheads of rum, 
and that the same be presented to the Army and disti'ibuted among 
the soldiers in such manner as the General shall direct, in compliment to 
the soldiers for their gallant behavior in the late battle of Brandywine. 

Septemher IJf, 1777. 

Resolved, That the President write to the governor and council of 
New Jersey and request them to call on the inhabitants of the above- 
mentioned places (in the western division of New Jersey) for as many 
blankets as can be spared to supply the soldiers of General Washing- 
ton's army, many of whom have lost their blankets in the late battle 
of Brandywine, and can not be supplied by the State of Pennsylvania; 
and that the cost of the said blankets be defrayed by the United States. 

September 13, 1777. — Robert White, deputy commissary-general of issues, resigned. 

September 16, 1777. — The Commissary-General of Issues and the Clothier-General 
were ordered to remove to Bethlehem', Pa., or some other place of safety the stores 
belonging to their respective departments ordered to, or deposited in, Trenton, N. J. 

September 17, 1777. 

Resolved, That General Washington be authorized and directed 
, . . to take, wheresoever he may be, all such provisions and other 
articles as may be necessary for the comfortable suljsistence of the 
army under his command, paying or giving certificates for the same; 
. . . provided that the powers hereby vested shall be exercised 
only in such parts of those States as may be Avithin the circumference 
of 70 miles of the headquarters of the American Army, and shall con- 
tinue in force for the space of 60 days, unless sooner revoked by 
Congress. 

September 27, 1777. 

Resolved, That the Board of War be directed to cooperate with Gen- 
eral Washington in devising and carrying into execution efiectual 
measiu-es for supplying the Army with . . . shoes, blankets, 
stockings, provisions, and other necessaries; and that in executing 
this business these collections be confined, as nuicli as circumstances 
will admit, to persons of dissatisfied and equivocal characters. 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 269 

October 2, 1777. 

Resolved, That the commissary -general of provisions . . . and 
their deputies, respectively, be directed to provide and suppl}', in the 
places where Congress may meet, such articles of their respective 
departments as may be required by the several members thereof for 
the use of themselves, their servants, and horses, the said members 
paying the cost of the said articles; and that this resolution extend to 
the secretaries, treasurer, and the officers of the several boards and 
committees of Congress. 

Octoher ^, 1777. 

Resolved., That if the deputy commissary -general of purchases, or of 
issues, appointed for the eastern district, shall decline to accept of or 
officiate in their respective offices, Major Gen. Putnam, the command- 
ing officer at Peekskill, or the commanding officer there for the time 
being, be authorized and directed to appoint suitable persons to those 
respective offices, or either of them; and that Maj, Gen. Gates, or the 
commanding officer for the time being of the northern department, 
have similar power with respect to the deputy commissary -general of 
purchases and of issues for the northern department, and that they 
respectively certify the names of the commissaries which they may 
appoint to Congress for approbation. 

Resolved, That every assistant appointed, or that hereafter may be 
appointed by the respective deputy commissaries-general of purchases 
and of issues shall enter into bond to the president of Congress, in the 
penalty of 6,000 dollars, for the faithful performance of his duty; and 
such bond, being taken by the deputy commissary-general and lodged 
with the paymaster-general or deput}^ paymaster-general of the dis- 
trict, to be by him transmitted to the Treasury board, the deputy 
commissary-general shall no longer be chargeable or accountable for 
the good behavior of such assistants. 

That every deputy commissary -general shall be authorized to appoint 
as many clerks, not exceeding the number of three, as the respective 
commissaries-general shall judge necessary, who are directed to report 
the same to Congress. 

And whereas- it is represented that it will be exceedingly difficult to 
comply with the regulations of Congress for branding and numbering 
cattle on the horns. 

Resolved., That the purchasers of live stock be respectively directed 
to adopt such other mode for marking the same as they shall judge 
expedient, and to transmit to Congress by the earliest opportunity the 
regulations for that purpose by them adopted. 

That each of the deputy commissaries-general of purchases be author- 
ized to allow to the purchasers of live stock, in his respective district, 
a longer time for making the returns required by the 10th article of 
the regulations of the department of the commissaries than is therein 
specified; provided such deputy commissary-general shall judge it 
necessary and the time further allowed does not exceed one month. 
And if in the hurry of a march or engagement, or at any other time, 
any deputy appointed to receive, kill, and deliver live stock shall be 
unabh; to weigh the meat, hides, and tallow thereof he shall be indem- 
nified from any charge of neglect upon producing to the respective 
purchaser of cattle a certificate from the commanding officer of the 



270 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

army, post, or detachment of the fact aforesaid; and such certificate 
shall also excuse the purchaser of live stock from producing the receipt 
of the issuing commissary required by the 14ta article of the said 
regulations. 

That it was never the intention of Congress to make any purchaser 
of live stock or officer of the department liable for unavoidable loss 
of all or any part of such live stock, when such purchaser or officer 
shall make it appear that proper care hath been taken to prevent such 
loss. 

October 6, 1777. 

Resolved., That the commissaries-general of purchases and issues 
and their deputies and assistants have power and authority to impress 
and seize wagons, shallops, and proper storehouses, on extraordinary 
occasions, for the use of their departments; this authority to extend 
to the distance of 70 miles from neadquarters, and to be in force to 
the 1st of January next, and no longer; . . . 

October S, 1777. — "The commanding officers of corps are immediately to select the 
most suitable of their men and set them to making mockasins for their corps. The 
commissaries are to order the skins of the heads and legs of bullocks to be taken off 
and applied to that use, so far as they will go. The commissaries also are to issue 
the raw hides for the purpose upon the returns of the othcers commanding corps." — 
{Orders, General Headquarters, Perkiomy.) 

Octoher 11, 1777. 

Resolved., That the commissary-general of issues, his deputies and 
assistants, and all persons employed under him or them, deliver over, 
on demand, to the commissary of hides, all hides, tallow, feet, and 
offal of all cattle killed for the use of the Army, taking a receipt for 
the same, any order or direction of any person or persons to the con- 
trary notwithstanding. 

That the said commissary of hides be supplied with money for car- 
rying on the business of his department, from time to time, upon his 
application to Congress, and that he shall settle his accounts once a 
year or oftener, if required, with the Treasury board. 

That he or his deputies at any principal department or post be 
authorized to hire or impress one or more wagons or carriages for the 
use of his department, as occasion may require, which shall not be 
subject to be impressed for any other service by any officer of the 
Army, unless by special direction of the Commander in Chief for the 
time being; and if any officer shall (except as before excepted), on any 
pretense whatsoever, impress, without his consent, any wagon, cart, 
or carriage in the service of the said commissary of hides, he shall 
immediately, on application to the commanding officer nearest the 
place where the transaction happens, be put under arrest, be liable to 
pay all loss the State sustain by such impressment, and suffer such 
other punishment as shall })e deemed proper by a court-martial. 

That the Commander in Chief and the conunanding officer of any 
department, post, or detachment be directed to supply the commissary- 
general of hides and his respective deputies with guards for their 
wagons when the said commissary shall apply for the same and they 
shall appear to be necessary. 

That the said commissary of hides shall make a return once in every 
three months to the Board of War of his whole transactions, specifying 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 271 

the nnmher of workmen emploj^ed, the quantities of hides on hand, 
the quantities exchanged for leather and shoes, what quantit}^ is made 
up into shoes, and what otherwise disposed of; and to enable him to do 
this his deputies and assistants, whose names, occupations, and pay or 
wages he is also to return, shall make monthly returns to the said 
commissary of hides. 

That the said commissary of hides shall receive and take care of the 
tallow and all other useful offal of the cattle belonging to the United 
States, and see that the said tallow is properly rendered and made fit 
to be manufactured into candles and soap for the use of the Arni}^, and 
shall deliver the said tallow, so rendered, to the commissary-general 
of purchases, or his order, taking receipts for the same, resei'ving so 
much of the said tallow as may be necessary for the manufacture of 
the leather and the use of his own department. 

That the commissary of hides have the appointment of all deputies 
and assistants to be employed under him, for whose conduct he shall 
be responsible, and have authority to displace them at pleasure. 

Octoher If)^ 1777. 

Resolved, That a deput}" commissary -general of purchases and a 
deputy commissary-general of issues be appointed for supplying the 
forts and posts on the western frontier of Pennsylvania and Virginia, 
and that the limit of the district be assigned by the respective commis- 
saries-general. 

That assistant purchasing commissaries be not allowed in the district 
aforesaid. 

Octoher 16^ 1777. 

Ordered., That a copj^ of General Washington's letter of the 13th and 
the returns relative to clothing wanted for the Army be sent by express 
to each of the States of Massachusetts Bay, Connecticut, New Jersey, 
Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, and that they be respectively 
requested to send to the General, with all possible despatch, as many 
of the several articles mentioned in the returns as can be collected and 
are not immediately wanted for their respective regiments which have 
not joined the Army, and to order the officers in the clothier's depart- 
ment in the States aforesaid to use their utmost exertions in forwarding 
the clothing in their possession. 

October 22, 1777. 

Resolved, That the commissary-general of purchases be authorized 
and empowered to apply to the governor and council of safety of Con- 
necticut, or to the board of war to the Massachusetts Bay, or to 
empower the deputy commissary-general of purchases for the eastern 
district to import or contract with persons who shall import and supply 
on reasonable terms a sufficient quantity of salt for the Army of the 
United States in the middle district; that the masters of the vessels 
to be employed for this purpose be severally directed to deliver their 
cargoes of salt at such ports in the middle or southern districts as the 
commissary-general shall think most convenient, and that he order 
cargoes of flour or grain, on the arrival of those vessels at the ports 
aforesaid, to be provided and shipped in them for the Army in the 
eastern district. 



272 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

And the said governor and council of safety and board of war are 
severally requested to assist the commissary in accomplishing these 
purposes and to grant or procure permits for exporting cargoes to 
purchase the salt. 

And whereas there is an immediate demand for the article aforesaid 
in the middle district, 

Besolred, That the supreme executive authorities of the States of 
Massachusetts Bay and Connecticut be respectively requested to assist 
the commissary -general of purchases in procuring wagons or teams for 
removing 12,000 bushels of salt from the eastern to the middle district; 
that the said connnissary be directed to employ the wagons or teams 
procured in the Massachusetts Bay to remove the salt from thence to 
Connecticut, and those procured in the States last mentioned in remov- 
ing the salt from thence to such places on the North River as he shall 
judge most convenient; and the said commissary-general is directed to 
procure wagons or teams in the middle districts and load them with 
flour, to be delivered at the North River and sent by the teams bring- 
ing the salt from Connecticut to the magazines of the Army in that 
State; and that the wagons or teams from the middle district be 
employed to bring from North River the salt to be deposited there as 
aforesaid. 

m>vemher S, 1777. 

Resolved., That a copy of the resolutions of Congress of the 4th of 
October last, relative to the department of the purchasing and issuing 
commissaries, be forthwith transmitted by express to the governor 
and council of safety of Connecticut, who are authorized and requested 
to appoint a deputy commissarj^-general of purchases and a deputy 
commissary general of issues for the eastern district, provided the 
appointments of Congress to the respective offices aforesaid are not 
accepted, and Gen. Putnam has not made such appointments, agree- 
able to the powers given him by the resolution last mentioned, or that 
the officers so appointed should appear to the said governor and coun- 
cil incompetent to the liusiness. 

That a copy of the preceding resolution bo transmitted by the express 
aforesaid to Major Gen. Putnam, who is directed to inform his excel- 
lency Governor Trumbull of his conduct relative to the premises, and 
to direct the officers who may have accepted the appointments afore- 
said forthwith to apply to the governor and council of safety for 
instructions, and that Gen. Putnam cease to proceed further in the 
business aforesaid. 

November JO, 1777. — General Gates was authorized to order the Paymaster-General 
to pay dues to officers and men for rations allowed to them but not paid, provided 
the existing regulations of the Commissary's Department on the subject be no longer 
dispensed with than he shall judge necessary. 

^ovemher 11, 1777. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a deputy commissary-general 
of issues for supplying the forts and posts on the western frontiers of 
Pennsylvania and Virginia; and, the ballots being taken, John Erwing 
was elected. 

Noremher 14, 1777. — "Mr. Kemper, the deputy clothier-general, is to attend the 
meeting and take the directions of the board [commanders of brigades] for the 
present and future distributions." {Orders, General Headquarters, White- Marsh.) 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPAKTMENT. 273 

N<yvemher If), 1777. 

Resolved, That a copy of the letter from J. Bradford, dated Boston, 
October the 16th, 1777, to the secret committee, l)e transmitted to the 
clothier-general; . . . that the clothier-general, without delay, 
appoint a deputy in each State, if he hath not already made such 
appointments; that the cloth for soldiers' clothing mentioned in the 
said letter to be imported into Bedford for account of Congress be 
delivered to the clothier-general or his order; . . . that the 
receipts taken on the delivery be forthwith transmitted to the com- 
mittee of commerce; that the clothier-general be directed inmiediately 
to give orders to his deputy for the State of Rhode Island to receive 
the said cloth for soldiers' clothing, and procure the making up 
the same into clothes there or elsewhere, as soon as may be, and to 
forward them with the utmost despatch to General Washington's 
Arm}'; that the clothier-general also write to the governor and coun- 
cil of the State of Rhode Island, requesting them, in case the person 
appointed by him as his deputy should decline acting, to appoint a 
suitable person for that purpose, and for forwarding the clothing as 
above directed; and the said governor and council are requested to 
make such appointment accordingly, and to give every necessary aid 
to the above important business. 

Moveniber 19, 1777. 

Resolved, That the clothier-general be directed to deliver to the 
director-general of the military hospitals, the deputy directors-general, 
or their assistants, for the use of the sick and wounded of the several 
departments, a proportionable share of the blankets, shirts, shoes, and 
stockings, which he shall, from time to time, procure for the supply 
of the Army. 

JSfovemher W, 1777. 

Resolved, That [Colonel G. Morgan, restored to the appointment for 
Indian affairs] be appointed deputy commissary -general of purchases 
in the western district. 

November '-2'-2, 1777. 

Resolved, Tliat the resolution of Congress of the 15th of October 
last, directing that no assistant purchasing commissaries be appointed 
for the western district be not extended to the temporary appoint- 
ments of such officers, and that the Commissary-General of Purchases 
be directed to authorize the deputy commissary-general of purchases 
for the said district to make such appointments when he, the said 
Commissary-General, shall judge it necessarv. 

* * * 

5. Resolved, That . . . each of the respective legislatures [of 
the several States] enact suitable laws, . . . as to authorize the 
purchasing commissaries for the Army, ... to take from any 
engrossers, forestallers, or other person possessed of a larger quantity 
of any such commodities or provisions than shall be competent for the 
private annual consumption of their families, and who shall refuse to 

S. Doc. 229 18 



274 LEGISLATIVE HiSTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

sell the surplus at the prices to be ascertained [by a convention of State 
commissioners], paying only such price for the same. 
* * * 

Resolved^ That it be earnestly recommended to the respective legis- 
latures of the United States, without delay, by their separate authority, 
to adopt and eflectually enforce a temporary regulation of the prices 
of provisions and other conmiodities for the supply of the Army, in 
such manner as they shall judge reasonable; and to contiiuie in force 
until the general regulations bcfori^ })i'oposed shall l)e adopted. 

November 22, 1777. — "The Commander in Chief offers a reward of ten dollars to any 
person who shall, by nine o'clock on Monday morning, produce the best substitute 
for shoes, made of raw hides. The commissary of hides is to furnish the hides; and 
the major-general of the day is to judge of the essays, and assign the reward to the 
best artist." {Orders, General Headquarters, White-Marsh.) 

Novemler U, 1777. 

The committee appointed to prepare a plan for establishing a board 
to superintend the departments of the commissaries and Quartermaster- 
General, report: 

That as a Board of War, consisting of persons not meml^ers of Con- 
gress, has been lately established, and the late Quartermaster-General 
is a member thereof, the conmiittee are of opinion that a considerable 
expense may be saved b}" adding to the board a person acquainted with 
the commissarial business, and authorizing it to superintend each of the 
civil departments of the Army: Whereupon, 

Resolved., That Congress concur with the committee. 

Novemher 25., 1777. 

Resolved., That Governor Caswell be desired to appoint proper per- 
sons within the State of North Carolina to purchase, with secrecy and 
despatch, all the merchantable leather and deerskins in that State proper 
for making shoes, breeches, . . . that he ])e desired to detain so 
much thereof as can be manufactured into shoes and breeches within 
the space of four months, sending on to the clothier-general, at Lan- 
caster, in Pennsylvania, the shoes and breeches which may be made 
from time to time, . 

Novemher 26, 1777. 

Congress resumed the consideration of the report from the com- 
mittee on the letter from S. Hopkins, esq., etc., when the seventh 
article was agreed to as follows: 

Tth. And whereas, notwithstanding the large quantities of clothing 
which have seasonably been ordered from Europe for the armies of 
the United States, such .have been the obstructions, from a variety of 
causes, that an adequate supply has not been imported, and it is 
become necessary that iumiediate provisions should be made to defend 
the troops from the inclemency of the winter, and to prevent future 
disappointments of the like nature, and that, for this purpose, the sev- 
eral States should be called upon for assistance. 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPAETMENT. 275 

Resolved^ therefm'e^ That it be earnestlj' recommended to the several 
States from time to time to exert their utmost endeavors to procure, 
in addition to the allowances yf clothing- heretofore made by Congress, 
supplies of blankets, shoes, stockino-s, shirts, and other clothing for 
the oomforta])le subsistence of the officers and soldiers of their respec- 
tive battalions; and to appoint one or more persons to dispose of such 
articles to the said officers and soldiers in such proportion as the gen- 
ei'al officers from the respective States commanding in such army shall 
direct, and at such reasonable prices as shall be assessed by the clothier- 
general or his deputy, and be in just proportion to the wages of the 
officers and soldiers, charging the surplus of the cost to the United 
States; and all clothing hereafter to l)e supplied to the officers and sol- 
diers of the Continental Army out of the public stores of the United 
States, beyond the bounties alread}^ granted, shall be charged at like 
prices, the surplus to be defrayed by the United States; provided that 
effective measures be adopted by each State for preventing any com- 
petition between their purchasing agents and the clothier-general and 
his agents, who are severally directed to observe the instructions of 
the respective States relative to the prices of clothing purchased within 
such State. 

Novemher 28, 1777. 

Resolved, That a copy of the resolution of Congress of the 22d of 
October and 3d of November, relative to the Commissarj^'s Depart- 
ment, be transmitted to his excellency the governor and council of 
safety of the State of Connecticut, who are requested to order the salt 
to be sent from the eastern to the middle district, agreeable to the 
resolution first mentioned, to such parts of the Noi'th River and to the 
care of such officer or person there as the}' shall judge expedient, and 
inform Congress or the commissary -general of purchases thereof; 
and the governor and council aforesaid are further requested to take 
effectual measures for sending innnediate supplies of cattle to the 
army in the middle district and to the prisoners (piartered near Bos- 
ton; and to this purpose they are fully authorized to superintend the 
deputy commissaries-general of purchases and issues and their respec- 
tive deputies or assistants in the eastern and northern districts, and to 
remove and appoint others in the room of such as shall refuse or 
neglect to comply with their directions. 

* •5f * 

Resolved, That the counnissary-general of issues be directed to pre- 
serve the flour barrels of the Ai-my and send them b}^ the return 
wagons to the mills from whence supplies of flour may be sent to the 
Army; that he save the pork and beef barrels and as nuich of the salt 
therein as can be collected, and that for this purpose he employ a 
suitable number of coopers, and inform Congress of his proceedings 
therein. 

December 20, 1777. 

Resolved, That it ])c most earnestly recommended to the respective 
legislatures of the United States forthwith to enact laws appointing 
suitable persons to seize and take, for the use of the Continental Army 
of the said States, all woolen cloths, blankets, linens, shoes, stockings, 
hats, and other necessary articles of clothing suitable for the Army, 



276 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

which ma}' be in the possession of any persons inhabitants of, or res- 
idents within, their respective States, for the purpose of sale and not 
for their own private use or famil}'^ consumption, j^iving- them certifi- 
cates or receipts for the same, expressing the quality and quantity of 
the goods; provided, that such laws do not extend to any goods, wares, 
or merchandise which are or shall be iona Jide imported into the 
respective States on account of any persons not citizens of these United 
States, so long as the same shall continue their property, and no 
longer; and that they inflict such penalties as may be deemed proper 
on such persons possessed of an}' of the above-enumerated goods, 
wares, or merchandise, or other articles of clothing suitable for the 
Army, who, to evade the good intentions of the said laws, shall falseh' 
afiirm or declare the same to be the property of persons not citizens 
of any of the said United States. 

2. That it be further recommended to make provision in the said 
laws to empower the commissary-general of purchases, or any of his 
deputies, or such other persons as the respective legislatures ma}^ deem 
expedient, to seize all stock and every kind of provision necessary for 
the Army, which may have been purchased up on engrossed by an}^ 
person with a view of selling the same, giving to the person from whom 
yuch stock or provisions have been taken certificates as aforesaid. 

3. That the value of all such goods, wares, and merchandise as are 
above enumerated, or other articles of clothing, stock, or provisions 
necessary for the Army, which shall be so seized and taken, be ascer- 
tained at the rate at which the said articles shall be stated 1)}' the con- 
vention of the conmiittees of the several States to be held agreeably to 
the recommendation of Congress on the 22d of November last; the 
articles of clothing to be paid for by draughts made by the respective 
States upon the clothier-general, and the stock of provisions by the 
purchasing commissaries receiving them. 

4. And it is further recommended to the respective States to cause 
to be made up so much of the clothing aforesaid as they can complete 
within a reasonable tiuie, and to send the whole of the clothing so 
taken or seized, as well that part which ma}^ be made up, as that which 
remains unmade (except so much as may be necessary for clothing 
the recruits enlisted in the States for their respective battalions in the 
Continental service), to the clothier-general to be distributed in the 
first instance to the supply of the troops belonging to the State fur- 
nishing such clothing, and the residue in such manner as the commis- 
sioners of the War Ofiice or the clothier-general shall from time to 
time direct; provided, that this resolution shall not repeal or affect 
any part of the seventh proposition reconmiended to the legislatures 
of the respective States the 22d [26th] of November last, relative to 
the additional clothing to be furnished to their respective battalions; 
and it is further resolved, that the clothier-general transmit, from 
time to time, to the respective States, an account of the clothing fur- 
nished to their battalions out of the stock by them collected and sent 
forward, in order that each State may be satisfactorily informed that 
their troops receive immediate advantage from its exertions in the 
common cause. 

5. And whereas great waste of clothing has arisen from the want of 
fidelity or skill in the persons employed to make uyj the same: 

Rewlved^ That it be recommended to the respective States to appoint 
one or more suitable persons to superintend and direct the tradesmen 
employed to make up the clothes to be collected as aforesaid, who shall 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 277 

conform themselves to the instructions of the Board of War relative to 
the form thereof, provided that no delays be sutfered to take place 
from the want of such instructions. 

6. And whereas the comfoilable support of the arm}^ of these 
States may hereafter greatly depend on the supplies which they may 
be able to draw from their own internal resources, it is therefore 
most earnestl}^ recommended to the said States to employ a sufficient 
numlier of manufacturers and tradesmen to supply the clothing wanted 
for their respective battalions, exempting them, under proper regula- 
tions, fiom military duty; and authorizing suitable persons to collect 
and supply, at the stipulated prices, cotton, wool, liax, leather, and 
other articles for carrying on the said manufactures. 

7. And ... it is most seriously recommended to the several 
legislatures aforesaid forthwith to enact laws ... to prohibit 
any persons whatsoever, not citizens of their respective States, from 
purchasing within the same any article of clothing or provision neces- 
sary for the use of the army (unless so much as may be requisite 
for their own private or family's use or consumption), excepting only 
such person or persons as shall produce a certificate, under the seal 
and sign manual of the supreme executive authority of the respective 
States. . . . 

Decemher 30, 1777. 

Resolved, . . . That after the 1st day of January next the 
commissary-general of purchases be directed from time to time to 
compute the cost of each part of a ration, agreeably to the prime cost 
of the articles composing the same; and that he send a certificate 
thereof to the Board of Treasury, and also to the commissary -general 
of issues, who is thereupon directed to publish the same to the issuing 
commissaries, to be by them observed, in lieu of the estimate made in 
the 38th article of the conunissary's regulations, passed by Congress 
the 10th of June last. 

Decemher 31, 1777. 

Whereas Samuel A, Otis, deputy clothier-general in the State of 
Massachusetts Bay, hath signified to Congress that he hath contracted 
with sundry persons in the said State for a large quantity of clothing 
for the use of the Continental troops at the most extravagant rate of 
10 to 1,800 per cent, and that some of the holders of the s-aid goods 
have even refused to deliver him the same until they shall receive the 
cash, ... 

Besolved, Therefore, that Mr. Otis be directed to pa}' onl}- for such 
of the said clothing as he may have actually received at the rate for 
which he may have contracted for such clothing. 

Rrsolred, That it be most earnestlj^ recommended to the legislative 
authority of the State of Massachusetts Bay immediately to take and 
seize the residue of the clothing which the holders thereof have refused 
to deliver to the said Sanuiel A. Otis, agreeably to the resolutions of 
Congress of the ;>()th instant, which clothing shall be paid for in manner 
and at the rate mentioned therein, and not otherwise. 

January G, 1778. 

Resolved, That the clothicM'-gnMieral be directed to deliver to the order 
of the dii-ector-general as nuich linen and as many t)lankets as can be 
spared, to l)e retained in the hospital for the use of the sick. 



278 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

That the clothier-general be directed to supply the convalescents with 
necessary clothing, in order that, when propcrl}^ recovered, they may 
join the Arnw. 

January 13, 1778. 

Resolved., That ... a deputy commissarj^-general of issues be 
appointed to act^^rc* teinpore for the troops aforesaid [from New Hamp- 
shire, Massachusetts Ba}^ Rhode Island, and Connecticut, constantly 
employed in Rhode Island for the defense of the State and of the Provi- 
dence Plantations]; that the deputy commissary -general of issues be 
appointed by the council of war of the State of Rhode Island and 
Providence Plantations; . . . and that each . . . take the 
oath of hdelity and office. 

Jeimiciry llf., 1778. 

Bemlved., That the order of the commissary of prisoners shall be a 
sufficient voucher to the commissary or deputy commissary-general of 
purchases for the delivery of provisions for the use of the prisoners 
of war. 

Resolved^ That by the resolution of the 22d of October, 1777, the 
commissary -general of purchases is invested with powders adequate to. 
and sufficient for, the purpose of importing salt for the use of the Army. 

Resolved., That the powers and directions contained in the resolution 
aforesaid for procuring salt l)e extended to the article of rum for the 
Army. 

Resolved, That the Board of War of the State of Massachusetts Bay 
be I'equested to import from the middle and southern department 
15,000 l)arrels of flour to supply the magazines of the eastern district 
for the next campjugn, over and above what may be imported by the 
deputy commissary-general of purchases for that purpose, and deliver 
the same to the commissary -general of issues or his deputies, these to 
be deposited agreeabl}" to the orders of the conuuanding officer in that 
district, and that compensation be made to the board for their trouble 
herein. 

That the said board be empowered to purchase, charter, or hire on 
freight, as they may judge most for the interest of these States, vessels 
for this pur])()se, . . . for so nuich of tlie flour as they may order 
to be shipped from Virginia; that if the whole quantity of flour can 
not be readily obtained, the ]>oard be empowered to make up the defi- 
ciency by importing rice from South Carolina. 

* v.- * 

Resolved, That a deputy conunissary-general of purchases be appointed 
for the middle district, in addition to E.Blaine, and that the commis- 
sary-general of purchases, after consulting with Mr. Blaine, be directed 
to assign the part of the district in which the deputy commissary- 
general shall act. 

January XT, 1778. 

Remlved, That one or more persons be immediately employed by th:- 
Board of War, on the' best terms in their power, to purchase 30,0(H> 
barrels of flour, or wheat equivalent, and have it ground into flour, and 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 279 

to deposit 12,000 barrels, part thereof, at or near Lancaster, 8,000 
barrels at or near Reading-, (5,000 barrels at or near Bethlehem, 2,000 
barrels at Downingtown, and 2,000 barrels at Pottsgrove. 

* * * 

That these magazines, being established without the interference of 
the Commissary-General or his officers, shall when necessary be ordered 
under the direction of the issuing commissary-general by the Board 

of War. 

* * * 

That the Board of War enquire of His Excellency Thomas Wharton, 
esq., president of the council of the State of Pennsylvania, what meas- 
ures have been taken by the legislature of that State for laying up 
magazines for the Army; and if it should appear to the board, after 
such inquiry, that measures for that purpose have been taken adequate 
to the present critical situation of the Army with respect to supplies, 
they be authorized and directed to suspend the execution of the whole 
or such parts of the foregoing resolutions as they shall deem most 
conducive to the general weal. 

January 19^ 1778. 

Resolved^ That copies of the proposals of W. Buchanan, commissary- 
general of purchases, for establishing a communication to transfer pro- 
visions from South Quay, on Albemarle Sound, in the State of North 
Carolina, to Elkridge Landing, at the head of Patapsco, in the State of 
Maryland [be transmitted to the governors of North Carolina, Virginia, 
and Maryland, respectively], and that it be earnestly recommended to 
them forthwith to establish a sufficient number of wagons and boats, 
under the direction of active and careful persons, for transporting 
weekly 500 barrels of meal across the communication in their respective 
States, as specified in Mr. Buchanan's proposals, or on such other as 
they shall deem more eligible, and to open proper roads, if necessary, 
for such purpose. 

February 3, 1778. 

* * * 

And whereas many persons employed as deputy or assistant com- 
missaries . . . are dispersed in various parts of the continent, 
o\'er whom neither Congress nor the head of their respective depart- 
ments can have the immediate inspection: 

Resolved., That it be recommended to the legislative and executive 
authority of every State to take effectual measures for preventing any 
person within their States from exercising any office in the civil depart- 
ment of the Army, or in any other civil department under Congress, 
who shall not, when thereunto required by any magistrate, produce a 
legal appointment to such office and a certificate of his having taken 
the foregoing oaths or affirmations, or who shall neglect or refuse to 
take and subscribe the said oaths or affirmations within the time above 
limited. 

February 13., 1778. 

Whereas there is great danger of the armies of the United States 
being very nnich distressed if the exportation of beef and pork from 
the State of North Carolina lie not immediately prohibited: Therefore, 



280 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Resolved^ That the legislative and executive powers of the State of 
North Carolina be earnestly requested immediately to lay an embargo 
on all beef and pork, except so much as may be necessary for the ves- 
sel's use for the voyage, and to take the most effectual measures to 
prevent the embargo from being evaded. 

February U, 1778. 

Whereas . . . the general assembly of Pennsylvania have, by a 
law, appointed commissioners in each county within their State to pur- 
chase or seize wheat, tiour, and other provisions, etc., for the supply of 
the Army, pursuant to such orders as they shall receive from Congress: 

Resolved.^ . . . That the said commissioners deliver the live 
stock by them purchased to the order of the deputy commissary- 
general of purchases or his assistants, ... to whom severally 
they are directed to send immediate notice when such purchases are 

made. . . . 

* * * 

And whereas the Board of War have judged it expedient and neces- 
sary that a greater quantity of flour and other provisions than was 
directed by the resolution of Congress of the 15th of January should 
be purchased and other magazines formed besides these above men- 
tioned, and have, agreeably to the powers vested in them by the said 
resolution of the loth of January, employed superintendents for the 
purchase of flour, etc. : 

Resolved, That the Board of War proceed in that business, and that 
they direct their superintendents to purchase such farther quantities 
of flour and provisions and have them conveyed to and secured in 
such places as the board shall direct; and that they instruct such of 
their superintendents as may purchase in Pennsylvania to avoid clash- 
ing with the commissioners appointed by the law of that State in the 
execution of their duty. 

That the said board be empowered to appoint a suitable person at 
each of the new magazines which they shall establish, with such a 
salary as they shall judge reasonable, to inspect, receive, store, and 
take care of the provisions purchased and conveyed thither by the said 
superintendents, and to issue the same upon the orders of the Board 
of War. 

That the superintendents appointed by the Board of War be allowed 
a commission, not exceeding 2^ per cent, on all purchases by them 
made, in full for their trouble and expenses therein, and that in pur- 
chasing they do not exceed the prices established by the laws of the 
States in which the purchases are made. 

Fehruanj 18, 1778. 

Resolved, That it be recommended to the governor and council of 
the State of Maryland ... be requested immediately to appoint 
a commissary to purchase and supply the said militia [to be embodied 
for guarding the prisoners at Fort Frederick] with provisions during 
their service at that post. 

Februarij 21, 1778. 

Resolved, That the Board of War immediately employ a suitable 
number of proper persons on the east side of Susquehanna to pur- 
chase meat . . . for the Armv. . • • 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 281 

February 27, 1778. 

Eesolved, That a compan}^ of bakers be raised to bake bread for the 
Army, the company to consist of — 

One director, at $50 a month and 3 rations a day. 

Three subdirectors, at %U) a month and 2 rations a day. 

Twelve foremen, at $30 a month and 1 ration a day. 

Sixty bakers, at $24 a month and 1 ration a day. 

That the compan}^ ])e enlisted for one year from the day of then- 
enlistment and l)e subject to the rules and articles of war. 

That each foreman and baker have the same clothing as is allowed 
to noncommissioned officers in the Continental service. 

That the Board of War be directed to appoint the director and sub- 
directors and cause the company to be raised and set to work with 
the utmost despatch. 

March 4, 1778. 

Ordered., That the clothier-general send an assistant clothier to be 
stationed with the Continental Army on Hudson's River, to superin- 
tend the procuring and distribution of clothing. 

That the issuing commissary of the army stationed on or in the 
vicinit}^ of Hudson's River, for the defence thereof, have authority, 
with the concurrence of the commanding officer, to draw for supplies 
of provisions on the purchasing commissaries in the eastern or northern 
districts, as exigencies and the position of the troops may from time 
to time require, taking special care not to interfere with any supplies 
coming forward to or intended for the grand army. 

Marelt IS, 1778. 

Resolved^ That a commissarj^-general of purchases be appointed, 
with full powers to depute or remove any officer of his department. 

That each assistant purchasing commissary shall receive the follow- 
ing allowances for purchasing provisions and other articles, viz: 

Flour or meal, per cwt., 6-90ths of a dollar; hard bread, per cwt., 
8-90ths of a dollar; fresh pork, per cwt., 18-90ths of a dollar; salt pork 
in barrels, per cwt., 24:-90ths of a dollar; fresh beef, hide, and tallow, 
per cwt., 2i-90ths of a dollar; salt beef in barrels, per cwt., 24:-90ths 
of a dollar; salt, per bushel, G-90ths of a dollar; molasses, per gallon, 
3-90ths of a dollar; West India rum, per gallon, 3-90ths of a dollar; 
American rum or whiskey, per gallon, 3-90ths of a dollar; rice, per 
cwt., 6-90ths of a dollar; meat barrels, for packing beef, pork, or tish, 
each, 4-90ths of a dollar; bread casks with lining hoops, each, 3-90ths 
of a dollar; vinegar, per barrel, 3-90ths of a dollar; turnips and pota- 
toes, per bushel, 4-90ths of a dollar; beans and peas, per bushel, 0-9Oths 
of a dollar; pickled shad, per barrel, 12-90ths of a dollar; onions, per 
bushel, 5-90ths of a dollar. 

That each assistant purchasing commissary shall be allowed ten per 
cent on the sum which he shall save by purchasing good provisions at 
less prices than such as are fixed in the respective States. 

That it shall be the dut}^ of each deputy commissary-general of pur- 
chases to superintend the assistant purchasers under him, see that the 
business of his department is properly conducted, and that full supplies 
of j)rovisions are seasonably procured in his district, and that he shall 



282 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

be entitled to an allowance equal to l-5th part of the whole allowance 
made to his assistants as aforesaid. 

* * * 

Resolved^ That it shall be the duty of the commissary-general of pur- 
chases to superintend all the officers of his department, to give the 
necessary orders to the deputy commissaries-general, and see that the 
business in each department is properly executed, and that full sup- 
plies of provisions for the Army are seasonably procured, and that he 
shall be entitled to an allowance equal to one-third part of the whole 
allowance made to his deputy commissaries-general as aforesaid. 

That the allowance herein provided for the commissary and deputy 
commissaries-general and assistant commissaries shall be in lieu of all 
other rewards for their respective services and expenses, including the 
pay of their clerks in purchasing provisions. 

That the Commissary-General be directed to visit the armies and 
posts, and that he be subject to the orders of the Commander in Chief, 
and that he be excused from residing at the place where Congress sits, 
he keeping a clerk and office there, to which all returns shall be made, 
and which shall l)e under the inspection and direction of the Board of 
War. 

That the Commissary-General, deputy commissaries-general, and 
assistant commissaries of purchases govern themselves in all other 
respects by the regulations for the commissary's system passed in 
Congress the 10th day of June last, and the subsequent resolutions of 
the -ith day of October last, except such parts thereof as are altered 
by these regulations. 

March U. 1778. 

Resolved, That John Moore, esq., of the county of Albemarle, in 
Virginia, be appointed to act as an assistant connnissary of purchases 
under William Aylett, esq., deputy commissaiygeneral, for procuring 
live cattle and pork for the use of the Army under General Washing- 
ton, so long as the said deputy commissary-general may find his serv- 
ices necessary. 

March W, 1778. 

Ordered., . . . That a member be added to the said committee 
[on the commissary's department] in the room of Mr. Harvie, who is 
absent; the member chosen, Mr. F. L. Lee. 

April 9, 1778. 

The committee appointed to confer with Mr. Wadsworth, and to 
whom their former report was recommitted, brought in another report: 
whereupon, 

The following questions were moved: 

1. Whether Mr, Wadsworth, for discharging the duties of conunis- 
sary-general of purchases, shall be allowed half per cent on all the 
moneys which shall be b}' him received and expended for the use of 
his departments 

2. Whether the deputy commissaries to be appointed by Mr. Wads- 
worth shall be allowed half per cent on all moneys by them respec- 
tively received and paid to the purchasing commissaries under them in 
their respective districts S 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 283 

3. Whether the purchasing commissaries shall be allowed two per 
cent for the moneys which shall bo by them respectively received and 
expended in the purchase of provisions for the Army, pursuant to the 
orders of Mr. AVadsworth or his deputies? 

And the yeas and nays being taken on these questions severally: 
* * * 

So they were resolved in the affirmative. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a commissary-general of pur- 
chases, and, the ballots being taken, 
Jeremiah Wadsworth, esq., was unanimousl}^ elected. 

Ajml 9, 1778. — Mr. Wadsworth resigned about August 6, 1777; March 30, 1778, 
Messrs. Gerry, Clark, Lee, and Dyer were appointed a committee to confer with him 
and inquire whether he will undertake the office of commissary-general of purchases, 
and, April 2, 1778, Messrs. Drayton, Scudder, and Banister were added to the above 
committee. 

April 10, 1778. — Messrs. Dana, Scudder, and Chase were constituted a committee 
to confer with W. Buchanan, respecting his continuance in office, until Colonel Wads- 
worth is ready to enter in the business. 

Apr!! 1.U 177 S. 

Resolved. That the commissary-general of purchases have full power 
to appoint and remove every officer in his department. 

That the Commissary-General shall, from time to time, as the ser- 
vice may require, visit the armies and posts of the United States, and 
be subject to the orders of the Commander in Chief. 

That the Conmiissary-General shall not be obliged to reside at the 
place where Congress sits, but he shall there keep an office, to which 
all general returns in his department shall be made, and which shall be 
under the inspection and direction of the Board of War; every officer 
necessary to that office being daily allowed one ration of provisions, 
office rent, tirewood, candles, paper, wax, wafers, and quills being 
furnished at the expense of the United States. 

That the Commissary-Creneral, or his clerk at the office of general 
returns, shall receive from the Treasury, by warrant in the usual man- 
ner, all sums of money necessary for the service of his department, 
and shall l)e entitled to receive one-half per cent on all sums by him 
paid to the deputy commissaries-general for the public service, who, 
in their respective districts, shall furnish the necessary sums of money 
to the purchasing commissaries in such districts. Each deputy com- 
missary-general shall be entitled to receive one-half per cent upon all 
sums of money b}^ him paid to the purchasing coumiissaries in his dis- 
trict, and also three rations of provisions when in camp. Each pur- 
chasing commissary shall be entitled to receive a commission not exceed- 
ing two per cent, upon all sums of money by him laid out in the dis- 
charge of his office; and the Commissary-General and his deptities 
.shall be allowed forage for their horses when at any post where there 
is forage for the service of the United States, and shall have their 
horses shod at any shop belonging to the United States. 

That money for the use of the Commissary-General's Department 
shall be transmitted from the Commissary-General's office to the respec- 
tive deputy connuissaries-general, and expresses sent on the necessary 
business of that department at the expense of the United States. 

That it be reconnnended to the go^'ernment of the several States to 
exempt from militia duties all ])ersons who are, bona tide, engaged in 
the Commissary-Generars Department. 



284 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

That the Commissary-General shall appoint an assistant to reside at 
headquarters under the orders of the Commander in Chief, The assist- 
ant shall be entitled to receive a dailv pay of five dollars, an allowance 
of rations, two for himself and one for his servant, forage for two 
horses, which shall be shod at the expense of the United States, 

That the Commissary-General, the deputy commissaries-general, and 
the purchasing commissaries, respectively, shall provide teams and 
driyers for transporting provisions at the expense of the United States 
when teams and driyers for such seryice can not, in due time, be 
obtained from the Quartermaster-General's Department. 

That the Commissary-General shall assign to the seyeral purchasing 
commissaries their respectiye districts for the sphere of their purchases, 
out of which they shall not make any purchases for the United States, 
nor into which they shall not giye any encouragement for the bringing 
any commodities from any other purchasing commissary's district, 
unless thereto expressly authorized by the Commissary-General or 
deputy commissary-general of the district. 

That each purchasing conmiissary upon his entrance into oflice shall 
take an oath before some magistrate "that he will not directly nor 
indirectly take any measure, nor cause or countenance any to be taken, 
to raise the price of any articles within the view of the Commissary- 
General's Department; that he will use his best skill and judgment in 
purchasing on the most reasonable terms on account of the United 
States, and that he will give to the Commissary-General from time to 
time the earliest information of such frauds and abuses in his depart- 
ment as shall come to his knowledge," and the aflidavit so taken shall 
be returned to the purchasing commissary -general and by him lodged 
in the War Oflice. 

That all persons in the Commissary-General's Department shall take 
bills of parcels for all the articles ))y them respectively purchased, 
receipts for all the moneys by them respectiyely paid, and receipts for 
all articles delivered, to be produced as necessary vouchers at their 
seyeral settlements. 

That the purchasing commissaries shall make monthly returns to the 
deputy commissaries-general of their respectiye districts of their pur- 
chases and the prices paid, and shall settle their accounts once in six 
months. 

That the deputy commissaries-general shall once in eyery two months 
make their returns to the Commissary-General's Oflice of general 
returns and shall settle their accounts at that oflice whenever required 
to do so by the Connnissary-General. 

That every three months the Commissary-General shall render to 
Congress an account of his receipts and expenditures, and every nine 
months a statement of the general retui'ns of his department, and such 
account and statement shall be returned at such other times as Con- 
gress shall require. 

April 16, 1778. 

Resolved, That nothing contained in the system for the Commissary- 
General's Department shall be construed to make the Commissary- 
General liable for the misapplication of money for the use of his 
department by any inferior ofhcer in that department, provided that he 
shall take bonds from the deputy commissaries-general and assistant 
commissary -general, respectively, appointed bj^ him, with not less than 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 285 

two j:^ood and sufficient securities, in the sum of 20,000 dollars, to be 
by him lodged in the Treasury office; and the said deputy commissaries 
shall be exonerated of all sums of money by them respectively paid to 
the purchasing commissaries, provided they shall take bonds from the 
said purchasing commissaries, respectively, with not less than two 
good and sufficient securities, in the sum of 10,000 dollars, which 
bonds they shall lodge in the said Treasur}' office. 

April 16, 1778. — General Washington fixed the ration at Ij ponnds of flour or 
bread, 1 pound of beef or fish or three-fourths pound of pork, and 1 gill of whisky 
or spirits; or l^ pounds of flour or bread, one-half pound of pork or bacon, one-half 
pint of pease or beans, and 1 gill of whisky or .spirits. ( Orders, General Headquarter,-;. ) 

April 21, 1778. 

Congress having received repeated information that various abuses 
prevail in the department of the commissary of hides: for securing 
the hides and tallow belonging to the public, 

Resolved.^ That the Board of War be directed to make such regula- 
tions for conducting that department as the}^ shall deem best calculated 
to answer the end of its institution; that they be authorized to dismiss, 
if they shall judge neces.sary, the persons who have been hitherto 
employed to conduct the same, and to appoint others in their stead, 
till the pleasure of Congress can be known, reporting to Congress the 
names of the principal persons by them appointed to conduct the 
business. 

Maij 2, 1778. — Congress authorized the commissioners at Fort Pitt, or, in their 
absence, the othcer appointed to command on the western frontier, to apjjoint a 
proper person to perform the duties of commissary to the militia of the counties 
of Rockingham, Augusta, Rockbridge, Botetourt, Montgomery, Washington, and 
Greenbrier, Va. 

May m, 1778. 

Resolved., That all further purchases of clothing on account of the 
United States b}^ the clothier-general, his deputies, or agents be forth- 
with suspended, and that the}^ be directed immediately to prepare and 
bring in their accounts to the Board of Treasury, to be liquidated and 
settled. 

Resolved., That the hides belonging to the United States be applied 
toward furnishing the Army with shoes, as heretofore, under the 
direction of the Board of War; and that the said board do purchase or 
cause to be purchased shoes, stockings, and linen, for the use of the 
Continental Army, until the clothing department shall be properly 
arranged and organized. 

* * * 

Ordered, That all the linen, shirts, stockings, shoes, and lilankets 
lately imported on account of these United States, now in Boston, 
Portsmouth, or in any other places in the State of Massachusetts Bay 
or New Hampshire, in whose hands soever the same may be, be imme- 
diately sent forward to the clothier-general or his order, to be by him 
delivered out, if necessary, for the use of the main army; and that the 
other articles of imported clothing only, whether they should have 
been delivered out to any persons in the clothing department or others, 
or not, be removed with all convenient speed to Springtield, in 
the county of Hampshire, in the State of Massachusetts Bay, there to 



286 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

be stored, if practicable, under the constant care of a suitable store- 
keeper, who shall see that they be properly aired and otherwise 
attended to, so that they receive no damage by being- stored; and the 
person or persons in whose care the same clothing shall be is hereby 
strictly forbidden to deliver out any part of the same without the 
special order of Congress or the Board of War. 

If the last-mentioned clothing can not all be conveniently stored in 
Springfield, that then the residue be stored at Worcester, in the same 
State, in like manner, and subject to the same directions as that part 
which may be stored at Springfield. The packages are to be carefully 
preserved for future transportation. 

June 4, 1778. — Congress api)oiiited Messrs. Carroll, Matthews, and Wentworth a 
committee to extract from the journals the resolutions relative to the regulations of 
the Commissary's and Clothier's departments. 

June S\ 1778, 

Resolved, That an embargo be, and it hereby is, laid to prohibit the 
exportation of wheat, tiour, rye, Indian corn, rice, l^read, beef, pork, 
bacon, live stock, and other provisions from an}^ of these United 
States, from and after the 10th day of June instant until the 15th day 
of November next, unless sooner revoked by Congress; provided that 
this embargo shall not be construed to prevent the taking on l)oard 
such provisions as shall be necessary for the stores only of any ships 
or vessels of war or others trading to and from these States. 

Resolved^ That it be earnestly recommended to the respective States 
to take the most effectual measures for carrjdng the foregoing resolu- 
tion into immediate execution. 

June 10, 1778. 

Hesolved., That Governor Henry be requested to purchase for the 
United States the articles contained in the list hereto annexed, being 
part of the cargo of the French ship Le Fler Roderique, as cheap as he 
can, not exceeding the price following, viz, £450 Virginia money for 
every £100 sterling, to be paid in tobacco at 10 dollars per hundred, 
and that a letter be written to his excellency explaining the principle 
of such limitation. 

LIST OF ARTICLES. 

. . . Men's silk and woolen stockings; woolen caps; the differ- 
ent kinds of buckles; uniform buttons for officers and soldiers; sleeve 
l)uttons; red cadis for the linings of uniforms; coarse and fine shirts; 
woolen blankets; soldiers' hats; cloths, fine, for officers; ditto, coarse, 
for soldiers, and light ditto for soldiers; brass inkstands; white flan- 
nel sewing thread; linen spatterdashes for soldiers; soldiers' clothing, 
ready-made; an assortment of handkerchiefs; . . . wrist bands 
for shirts; serges of different colors, viz, scarlet, sky-blue, brown, and 
white for linings; an assortment of sewing silks, men's shoes, soldiers' 
knapsacks; an assortment of brown and white linens; white Malaga in 
cases; red Burgundy in cases, 12 gross; claret in casks; 20 casks white 
wine vinegar. 

June 11, 1778. — Patrick Lockhart, esq., was appointed to procure provisions and 
other necessaries for the expedition to reduce the garrison of Detroit and compel 
terms of peace from such of the Indian nations now in arms against the States lying 
on or contiguous to the route between Fort Pitt and Detroit. The expedition was 
deferred by resolve of July 25, 1778. 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPAETMENT. 287 

July S\ 1778. 

Ordered., That the clothier-general, or in his absence his deput}^ in 
Philadelphia, be directed immediately to make out and lay before 
Congress an exact and particular invoice of all and every kind of 
goods, wares, and merchandise which have been purchased or taken 
up by the clothier-general or any of his deputies within this city, 
together with a list of names of the persons of whom they have been 
purchased and from whom taken, and the prices at which the}^ were 
purchased. 

July IS, 1778. 

Besolved, That the Commissary-General be directed to furnish the 
French squadron, under Mons. le Count d'Estaing, vice-admiral of 
France, with such provisions, from time to time, as shall be directed 
by the Marine Committee, and to make return of his proceedings and 
expenditures on this occasion to that committee 

Aug II fit 18, 1778. 

Resoh'ied., That the Board of War be empowered and directed to take 
such measures with regard to the making up, storing, and transporting 
the imported clothing mentioned in the resolutions of Congress of the 
28th of May last as to them shall seem expedient and best adapted to 
present circumstances, anything contained in the said resolutions not- 
withstanding. 

August "21^, 1778. 

Resolved, That the commissary-general of purchases do procure in 
Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia, on the most reasonable 
terms, 20,000 barrels of flour. 

That the said commissary -general of purchases be directed to pro- 
cure vessels for the transportation of the flour aforesaid, and that he 
give timely notice^ of the sailing of said vessels, and confer thereon 
with the Marine Committee, to the end that convoy may be obtained 
and the destination thereof directed.^ 

August m, 1778. 

The Board of War report that the commissaries-general of purchases 
and issues have represented to them that, from the moving state of the 
Army, many parts of the ration as established by Congress, can not 
frequently be o])tained, and, from the peculiar circumstances attend- 
ing the supplies, there is sometimes an overquantity of one article, 
while others are extremely scarce, some of the States afl'ording greater 
quantities of meat, while others abound more in flour; and that from 
hence great embarrassments arise in the delivery of the stated ration; 
and that under such fluctuating circumstances, which change with the 
motions of the Army, it is impracticable and troublesome to apply to 
Congress on every alteration of situations; whereupon 

Resol/oed, That the Commander in Chief of the armies of the United 

^ This action was based on the report of the conunittee, to whom the letter of the 
commissary-general of purchases was referred, "that the transportation of flour to 
the Easterii States by sea is wise and necessary." 



288 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

States shall, in the army under his immediate command, and the com 
mander of a department shall, in the army under his command, settle 
and determine, according to circumstances, the ration to be issued to 
the troops from time to time, giving an overproportion of a plentiful 
article in lieu and in full satisfaction of such as are scarce or not to be 
had, and which have been heretofore deemed part of the ration, 
reporting from time to time to the Board of War such alterations and 
regulations by them respectiveh^ made in this respect. 

Septemher 1, 1778. 

Resolved., That the commissary -general of purchases be empowered 
and directed to appoint and remove at his pleasure an inspector of cat- 
tle, at a salary of four dollars a day, with an allowance of one ration a 
day and forage for one horse. 

That the dutv of the said inspector shall be to receive and take 
account of the fat cattle at camp from the several drovers; to inspect 
over the luiUock guard and pastures; to superintend the butchers, and 
see that no cattle are killed but those lit for use; to keep accounts of 
the beef delivered to the brigade commissaries, and settle the same 
with them every month; to see that the hides and tallow are seasonably 
delivered to the commissary of hides, and to superintend and regulate 
everything relating to beef cattle at camp. 

That he report monthly his proceedings to the Board of War, and all 
occurrences worthy of notice within the line of his duty. 

Septemher '2., 1778. 

Resolved., That it be recommended to the legislative or executive 
powers of the State of Pennsylvania and the States southward thereof 
to permit such vessels to load with tlour, wheat, rice, corn, pease, or 
beans for the Eastern States as shall come recommended by the 
executive powers of such States, or any of them, to carry provisions 
for the consumption of the people of those States. 

Septemher 11., 1778. 

Resolved, . . . That General Washington be informed that 
Congress have given orders for the purchase of 20,000 barrels of 
Hour, to be transported by water for that purpose; and that he be 
authorized and directed to fix on the places where the said magazines 
shall be established, and to give the necessary orders to the_ . . . 
Commissary-General for carrying this resolution into execution. 

September 12., 1778. 

Resolved., That the commissary -general of purchases be directed to 
give orders to his deputies and assistants forthwith to deliver to the 
commissary of forage and his deputies the bad wheat and offals of 
wheat which they at present have, or may hereafter, in their respec- 
tive possessions ;%ind further, that the said commissary-general issue 
orders to the purchasers to be careful not to purchase, in future, dam- 
aged wheat, as the same is found by experience extremely injurious, 
even for the purposes of forage. 

September 19, 1778.— ISlr. Mease asked Congress to appoint some one in his place. 
Nothing, however, was done, and January 9, 1781, Congress requested that the 
attorney-general of Pennsylvania institute proceeding against him for breach of trust 
and abuse of office. 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPAETMENT. 289 

October 2, 1778.' 

Resolved., That it be earnestly recommended to the legislative or, 
when vested with sufficient power, to the executive authorities of the 
States above mentioned [New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Dela- 
ware, Maryland, and Virginia] to authorize and direct any civil magis- 
trate within their respective jurisdictions, on an information given by 
the commissary , . . general, or by the deputy commissary . 
general of the respective districts, of any extraordinary quantit}' of 
grain or flour being purchased and in the possession of individuals, 
forthwith to issue his warrant empowering the informant to seize the 
same for the public use, paying for the same such prices as to the respec- 
tive legislatures appear proper, to prevent the practice of engrossing 
those articles in future. . , . 

* tJ- * 

Resolved., That the embargo on provisions, which, by the resolution 
of the 8th day of June last, was laid until the 15th day of November 
next, be continued in force, subject to such exceptions as are recom- 
mended b}^ the resolution of September 2d, till the last day of January, 
1779, or until such time as Congress shall give notice to the respective 
States that sufficient supplies have been obtained for the operations of 
the Army and for the French squadron; and that it be recommended 
to the respective States to take the most efl'ective measures for carrj^- 
ing this resolution into eft'ect. 

* * * 

Resolved., That it be earnestly recommended to the legislative and 
executive authorities of the respective States not to grant any exemp- 
tion from embargo to any vessels whatever, unless, in addition to the 
former security recommended, the persons applying for the same com- 
ply with the following stipulations, to wit: 

* * * 

That the shippers shall first agree with the Commissary-General, or 
person by him duly authorized for such purpose, on the price for 
which the flour shipped shall be delivered at one of the posts in the 
Eastern States for the public use. 

Resolved., That the exemption from the embargo, as recommended 
by the resolution of Congress of September 2d, be extended to vessels 
belonging to the Middle and Southern as well as those of the Eastern 
States, under the restrictions and stipulations above mentioned. 

Resolved., That the Commissary-General be authorized to despatch 
provisions vessels to the eastward, with or without convo}^ as in his 
judgment shall be most conducive to the certain and speedy supply of 
those articles for the Army of the United States and the fleet of 
Count d'Estaing, notwithstanding any resolution of Congress hereto- 
fore made on this subject. 

Octoher 13, 1778. 

Resolved, That Joseph Clay, esq., deputy paymaster-general, in the 
State of Georgia, be empowered and directed to pay into the hands of 
the deputy commissar}^, . . . and the deputy clothier-general in 

^This resolve was adopted because of the scantiness of the crops of wheat and 
other grain in the States mentioned therein and to defeat the operations of numerous 
speculators, forestallers, and engrossers. 

S. Doc. 229 19 



290 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

the .said State (they obtaining a warrant from the commanding otficer 
in the Southern Department) such sum or sums of money as may be 
wanting in their respective departments. 

Resol/ved., That the deputy commissary, . . . and the deputy 
clothier-general, in the State of Georgia, when they deliver their 
respective accounts of expenditures to the deputy paymaster-general, 
do cause to be specified, on the receipts of the said accounts, that the 
same were paid in Continental currency, and that the sum be fully 
expressed in words. 

Octoher 16, 1778. 

liesolved, . . . That the commissary -general of purchases pro- 
vide a suitable supply of provisions for the said troops [guarding at 
Charlottsville,Va., British prisoners under the convention of Saratoga]. 

That the commissary-general of issues appoint a suitable person to 
issue provisions to the said troops and to keep a regular account 
thereof.- 

That regidar accounts for provisions and fuel be made and trans- 
mitted, from time to time, to the Board of War. 

October 19, 1778. 

Resolved, That Major James Gray be appointed deputy commissary- 
general of issues in the Northern Department. 

Octfjher- 22, 1778. 

Whereas upon the evacuation of this city [Philadelphia] b}^ the Brit- 
ish army certain seizures were made of goods and effects supposed to 
belong to the subjects of Great Britain, and other goods were taken 
up under contracts entered into with the inhabitants of this city by 
the officers in the departments of the . . . clothier and commis- 
sary generals, and a committee hath been appointed by Congress to 
examine into the conduct of the said officers in making the said seizures 
and contracts, that justice may be done to the public and individuals, 
but report hath not yet been made: 

Resolved, That the Board of War direct such of the said goods, whether 
seized or contracted for, as may be wanted for the immediate use of 
the Army, especially for clothing, to be appropriated for that purpose; 
and that the Board of War direct that the proper accounts be kept of 
the goods so appropriated, the quantity and quality, and of whom 
seized and with whom contracted for. 

Octoher 26, 1778. 

Resolned, That for the future no wheat be purchased for forage by 

any person for the use of the United States unless Congress shall 

order otherwise. 

* * -x- 

Resolved, That whenever it may be necessary to employ merchant 
vessels on account of these United States the same ought to be char- 
tered rather than purchased; and that the Commissary-General, agent, 
or contracto]-, on behalf of these United States, if he shall, at any time, 
find it expedient to take into the service of the Government vessels to 
be employed as transports on the high seas, and such vessels can not 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPAETMENT. 291 

be obtained without insurance on ttie part of Government, shall cause 
the value thereof to be ascertained by three reputable men having 
knowledge in such business, on oath and under their hands and seals; 
which said valuation shall be invested in the charter party, and any 
loss that ma}' arise to the owner or owners by means of the enemy 
shall be paid according to the common course of insurance. 

October 28, 1778. — T. B. Girardeau, deputy commissary-general of issues in South 
Carolina and Georgia, resigned. General Howe provisionally appointed Mr. Mor- 
decai Shetfall in his place. 

Nove7nber 7, 1^78. 

Resolved, . . . That the commissaries-general of purchases and 
issues and their deputies be directed to comply with such requisitions 
as shall be made to them, from time to time, by the commissary -general 
of prisoners, for such articles of provisions as shall be necessary to 
furnish the British prisoners agreeably to the above direction of 
Congress. 

November 10, 1778. 

Whereas it has become necessary not onlj'^ that speedy and vigorous 
measures should be taken to regulate the commissary's . , , depart- 
ments, but also that constant attention should be paid to those depart- 
ments: 

Resolved, That Mr. Scudder, Mr. G. Morris, and Mr, Whipple be 
a committee to superintend the same departments, and that they, or 
any two of them, be empowered to take such steps relating to the 
same as they shall think most for the public service. 

November 30, 1778.— Mr. Searle was added to the committee on the clothier's 
department. 

December i, 1778. 

Congress took into consideration a report from the Board of War of 
the l-ith of August last, wherein the board sets forth — 

That Colonel George Morgan, purchasing commissary for the Western 
Department, has represented to the board the necessity of preparing 
immediately for the laying of such magazines of provisions as shall be 
sufficient for the troops maintained for the defense of the Western 
frontiers; that for the supply of 1,300 men for ten months, 617,500 
lbs. of flour, a like quantity of fresh beef or 191,000 lbs. of pork will 
be necessary; the cost of which, with 1,500 gallons of whiskey, will 
amount to 201,000 dollars; . . . whereupon, 

Resolved, That Colonel George Morgan, commissary of provisions 
for the Western district, be furnished with 201,000 dollars, to enable 
him to form magazines of provisions for the use of that department 
the year ensuing. 

January 1, 1779. — "The brigade commissaries are to deliver their hides and tallow 
to the commissary of hides at Boundbrook." [Orders, General Headquarters, Middle- 
brook.) 

January 21, 1779. — "The deputy clothier-general is to issue a woolen cap to each 
effective man present belonging to the brigades in this camp on returns made by the 
commanding officers of brigades, countersigned by the Adjutant-General." 

"The brigade commissaries are regularly to turn in all the catties' horns and feet 
at least once a week." {Orders, General Ileadquarters, Middlehrook.) 

January 28, 1779. — "John Mehelm, esq. [is] appointed commissary of hides for 
the State of New Jersey." {Orders, General Headquarters, Middlebrook.) 



292 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY 

February i, 1779. 

Resolved., That the Commander in Chief give such directions as he may 
think proper for arranging the commissary's . . . departments 
to the westward, an}" resolutions of Congress notwithstanding; . . . 

March 5, 1779. 

Resolved., That the . . . commissary of purchases and clothier- 
general and such of their deputies as they shall appoint for that purpose 
be, and they are hereby, authorized and directed to pay all certificates 
(of the authenticity whereof they are or shall be satisfied) for provi- 
sions, . . . clothing, or other articles within the line of their 
respective departments,, furnished by the inhabitants to the troops or 
detachments, or in cases of necessity, where supplies could not be 
obtained in a regular course; for which sums so to be paid they shall 
be allowed for their trouble one-half per cent and no more. The evi- 
dence of such supplies being furnished shall, so far as regards the party 
of whom received, be the certificates of the officers receiving them. 
But the officers in the said departments, the clothiers excepted, paying 
the same shall notify the officers who gave such certificates to render 
an account of the application of the articles so received, and the said 
officers are hereb}^ directed to render such account accordingly; and 
the said . . . commissary-general and their deputies so paying 
the said certificates are hereby authorized and empowered to examine 
and settle the said accounts. 

* * * 

The clothier-general or his deputies shall transmit to the commis- 
sioner appointed for settling the accounts of the arrearages of cloth- 
ing due to the soldiers in the Army copies of such certificates as shall 
be paid b}^ him, that the officers signing the certificates may be called 
on by the said commissioner to render an account of the distribution 
of the articles, which shall be duly charged to the men who have 
received them. In case of misconduct of any officer signing a certifi- 
cate, the like proceedings shall be had, on the application and report 
of the commissioner of clothing, as are hereinbefore directed. 

No certificate given before this date shall be paid unless the same 
be presented for paj^ment within six months from this day; and no 
certificate hereafter given shall be paid unless presented to the proper 
officer within three months after the date thereof. 

And whereas it will be necessary that in future certificates be more 
formally authenticated, to prevent man}^ inconveniences which may 
arise similar to those already experienced: 

Resolved., That certificates hereafter given by commissioned officers 
for articles received for the use of the Army be signed with their 
names at full length and the rank they hold, and if under a general 
officer, that the regiment to which they belong be added; 

That the particular articles received be inserted in the body of the 
certificate, their value, the time when and place where received, in 
letters and not in figures; 

That the certificates be directed to the principal of the department, 
whose duty it is to provide the articles so received, or his nearest 
deputy, separate certificates to be given whensoever the articles apper- 
tain to the several departments; 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPAETMENT. 293 

That officers keep exact copies of the certificates they give, and 
transmit other copies to the nearest deputy or agent in the department, 
giving him the necessary information respecting the business. 

That the deputies transmit copies of all the certificates they pay to 
their principals, that enquiry may be made whether the giving the 
certificates was necessary for the pu])lic service and whether the things 
received have been properly applied. 

March 12, 1779. 

Resolved^ That the clothier-general be, and hereby is, ordered, if 
there be 'M\y of the goods on hand by him taken from the merchants 
of Philadelphia at the time of the evacuation of the city by the enemy 
and not fit for the use of the Army, to return such goods to the persons 
from whom they were taken without delay ; that for all such goods as 
he has sold to private persons he pay to the persons from whom they 
were taken the sums for which they were sold. 

* * * 

That the clothier-general . . . pay to the memorialists from 
whom goods were taken for public use the current price of the same 
at the time the said goods were taken. 

March 13, 1779, 

Resolved, That the clothier-general ... be directed to lay 
before Congress without delay a full account of the sales and distri- 
bution of the goods taken from the inhabitants of Philadelphia when 
that city was evacuated by the enemy. 

March 16, 1779. 

Resolved, That all warrant officers on the civil staff of the Army be 
put on the same footing with commissioned officers in respect to arrests, 
trials, and punishments. 

Whereas the issuing commissaries of provisions are by their appoint- 
ments attached to particular departments, which from a change of 
circumstances and position of the Army is become inconvenient: 

Resolved, therefore. That all issuing commissaries shall for the future 
attend and perform the duties of their office at such places and with 
such detachments of the Army as shall be directed by the Commander 
in Chief or commissary-general of issues. 

March m, 1779. 

ORDINANCE for regulating the clothing department for the armies of the United 

States. 

There shall be a clothier-general, a sub or State clothier for each 
State, and a regimental clothier. 

The clothier-general is to be subject to the orders of the Board of 
War and Commander in Chief. He is to furnish estimates of the supplies 
wanted for the Army; to apply to the Commander in Chief and Board 
of War for assistance therein; to make returns of such estimates to 
them respective!}"; to receive all supplies imported from abroad and 
purchased in the country by continental agents; to superintend the 



294 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. AKMY. 

distribution thereof among the State clothiers; to settle accounts with 
them at least every six months; to keep regular accounts of all the 
clothing he shall receive, as well as the distribution thereof among 
the State clothiers; and to transmit his accounts twice in every year 
to the Board of Treasur}^ and settle them in the chambers of accounts 
when required; and, generally, to take care on the one hand that justice 
is done to the public, on the other that the Army receive whatever 
shall be allowed them in a regular, direct, and seasonable manner; and 
at the same time so to act between the continent and each particular 
State that equal and impartial justice may be done on all sides. 

THE SUB OE STATE CLOTHIEE. 

A sub or State clothier is to be appointed by each State, respec- 
tively, to reside with or near the Army, or such detachment thereof in 
which the troops of the said State may be, as the Commander in Chief 
shall direct, the better to know and supply their wants. The State 
appointing him is to be answerable for his conduct. In case of neglect 
or misbehavior he is to be displaced by the Commander in Chief and 
his successor to be appointed by the State to which he belonged. He 
is to receive from the clothier-general the proportion of clothing 
assigned for the troops of his State out of the public clothing imported 
or purchased by continental agents, and from the State for which he 
is appointed all the clothing which may at continental expense be pur- 
chased in such State. Of the latter, their quality and price, he shall 
transmit exact accounts to the clothier-general, and, when required, 
submit the several articles to the inspection of the clothier-general or 
any person for that purpose deputed by him. He is to issue all cloth- 
ing supplied as aforesaid to the regimental clothiers on returns signed 
by the commanding officers of regiments. He is to keep exact returns 
with each regiment, inspect those of the regimental clothiers, see that 
the articles delivered them are duly issued to the troops, and that all 
the clothing procured at continental expense, above the allowance made 
by Congress, drawn by noncommissioned officers and privates is charged 
to them and credited to the pay roll, and that the commissioned officers 
receive what is credited to them and no more. He is to keep exact 
accounts with the clothier-general in behalf of the public, charging the 
United States with only what is allowed to the officers and men. 
Whenever the troops of any State shall have received their proportion 
of clothing from the continental stores, the supplies purchased at con- 
tinental expense by the State to which they belong, or from both, and 
there shall remain a surplus which may be wanted for other troops not 
fully supplied, the subclothier possessed thereof is to deliver over the 
surplus to such other State clothier as the clothier-general shall direct, 
taking duplicate invoices and receipts from the State clothier to whom 
they shall be transferred, one set of which he is to deposit with the 
clothier-general and the other to remain as his own voucher, the 
clothier-general on his part making proper entries in his accounts, to 
do justice to all concerned. 

When, from a deficiency in the public store, the troops of any State 
shall not have received their allowance of clothing, the State clothier 
is without delay to represent their wants, particularly enumerated in 
a return for that purpose, to the executive authority of the State to 
which he belongs, requesting a speedy and adequate supply. 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPAETMENT. 295 

And in case a State, at its own expense, shall give and deposit with 
him any clothing, for the more comfortable subsistence of its quota of 
troops, in addition to the allowance made by Congress, he is strictly to 
pursue the directions of such State, as well with respect to the distri- 
l)ution as the vouchers for the delivery and the manner and time of 
settling his accounts, transmitting once in every six months a copy of 
such accounts to the clothier-general, and as often, and whenever 
required, to the State to which he belongs. 

* -:5- * 

. . And to prevent in future unequal distribution of clothing 
either to the officers or soldiers, and the confusion and complaints, 
which have heretofore been occasioned by irregular applications from 
connnanding officers of regiments to public agents in different parts, it 
is hereby strictly enjoined on those agents, the clothier-general, and 
the sub or State clothiers to issue no clothing on any pretence whatso- 
ever but in the manner before prescribed, nor shall any article be cred- 
ited to either of them on settlement of their accounts which is not to 
be issued and vouched. 

And whereas discretionary changes of the uniforms of regiments 
have proved inconvenient and expensive, the Commander in Chief is 
therefore hereby authorized and directed, according to the circum- 
stances of supplies and clothing, to fix and prescribe the uniform, as 
well with regard to the color and facings as the cut or fashion of the 
clothes, to be worn by the troops of the respective States and regi- 
ments, which shall, as far as possible, be complied with by all pur- 
chasing agents employed by Congress, as well as particular States, by 
the clothier-general, sub or State clothiers, and regimental clothiers, 
and all officers and soldiers in the armies of the United States. And 
where materials can be purchased instead of ready-made clothes it 
shall always be preferred, in order that they ma}^ be made up by the 
tailors of the several regiments, to save expense and prevent the dis- 
advantages which the soldiers frequently suffer from their unfitness; 
and instead of breeches, woolen overalls for the winter and linen for 
the summer are to 1)e sulxstituted. 

That the l)oard of war prepai'e and transmit instructions and forms, 
according to which the several clothiers are to conduct the business 
and settle their accounts; and that the board of war report to Cong]-ess 
the proper salaries or allowances to he made to the several clothiers 
for their services. 

Marches, 1779. — " The Commander in Chief directs that the following ration be 
delivered to tl;e Army until further orders: 21 ounces of beef, or 18 ounces of pork; 
16 ounces of bread or flour; 1 gill of spirits occasionally. The usual quantity of soap 
and candles." {Orders, General, Headquarters, Middle-Brook.) 

March 31, 1779. — In view of the great fidelity, prudence, care, and economy which 
characterized the services of tlie late Commissary-General Trumbull, Congress author- 
ized the following allowances for the benefit of his heirs, viz: A commission of 5^ per 
cent on the gross sum of all moneys received and disbursed by him; also, a commis- 
sion of 2h per cent on such sums as appeared to have been laid out in purchases made 
by himself; and, finally, a further commission of ^ per cent on the gross sums received, 
as a compensation for "his extra services in issuing, purveying, quartermaster's duties, 
and various contingencies of office, extra expenses, etc. 

April 5, 1779. 

Resolved, That until the further order of Congress the clothier- 
general have a salary of 5,000 dollars per annum. 

Whereas the duties of the sti)> or State clothiers who are to be 



296 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF tJ. S. ARMY. 

appointed according to the late regulations of the clothier's depart- 
ment will be very unequal, the quota of battalions of the several States 
differing: 

Resolved., That each State determine and pay the salary proper for 
its clothier, and that each State clothier shall be allowed two rations 
and forage for one horse per day during the time he is in actual serv- 
ice with the Arm}^ and going to and returning from the same; 

That the regimental clothiers have an allowance of 30 dollars per 
month in addition to their present appointment; 

That the clothier-general be authorized to employ one clerk, who 
shall receive the same allowance as the clerks of the auditors of the 
Army. 

Ajyril <§, 1779. 

Resolved., That the Board of War and Ordnance be authorized to 
appoint persons to purchase necessaries for the Army until the further 
order of Congress. 

May 11, 1779. 

Resolved., That the pay of 200 dollars per month be allowed to the 
deputy conmiissary-general of issues, to commence from the 1st day of 
Januar}" last; 

That the assistant commissaries of issues at every magazine, post, 
or brigade of the Army be allowed 1)0 dollars per month, and the clerks 
of the commissary-general and deputy commissary-general of issues 
the sum of 80 dollars per month; 

That the clerks of the brigade commissaries and those at posts and 
magazines be allowed 50 dollars per month; l)ut no such clerk to be 
employed where the daily issues do not equal 400 rations; 

That a clerk of the scales be allowed 35 dollars per month; 

That every deputy corfimissary-general of issues be entitled to forage 
for two horses; 

That ever}^ brigade commissar}^ be entitled to forage for one horse; 
and whensoever the duty of the department requires the commissaries 
at posts and magazines to travel, the quartermaster at the post shall 
furnish a horse for the occasion; 

When the [duty of the] deputy of an assistant commissary absolutely 
requires that he should travel, he shall be allowed three dollars for 
every day he shall so necessarily travel for and toward his expenses 
on the journey; 

That the deputy commissaries-general of issues shall once in six 
months visit all the magazines, posts, and issuing stores in their respec- 
tive districts, to examine the state of the provisions and stores, and 
see that their assistants are punctual in the discharge of their duty, 
and they shall be allowed three dollars per day for their traveling- 
expenses in making such circuits; 

That an active list of all the conmiissaries of issues be made out once 
in every three months and lodged with the Board of War; and every 
such commissary who shall have been in the department for one year 
previous to this date, and now continues therein, shall be entitled to 
draw out of the clothier-generaVs store one suit of clothes for himself 
and one suit for his clerk, to be paid for at the same rate that officers 
in the line are charged for the same; and that they continue annually 
to do the same until Congress shall order otherwise. 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPAETMENT. 297 

June H-, l'^79. 

According to the order of the day, Congress proceeded to the elec- 
tion of a clothier-general; and, the ballots being taken, 

Mr. Peter "VVikotf was elected, having been previously nominated 
by Mr. Armstrong. 

Jahj 9, 1779. 

Resolved., That the executive powers of each State })e earnestly 
requested instantly to make the strictest inquiry into the conduct of 
every person within such State respectively employed, either in . . . 
or purchasing, or issuing Commissary-General's Department, and in 
case of an}^ kind of misbehavior, or strong suspicion thereof, in any 
such person not being an officer immediatel}'^ appointed by Congress, 
to remove or suspend every such person, ordering him at their discre- 
tion to be prosecuted at the expense of the United States, and to apjwint 
another in his place if necessary, and so, from time to time, as occa- 
sion may be, giving notice to the Board of War and also to the . . . 
Commissary-General in whose department such removal or suspension 
shall be of the change; the person so appointed to have the same 
authority and pay which the person removed had been vested with 
and entitled to, or such pay as the said executive powers, respectively, 
shall agree for, to be in like manner subject to the head of the depart- 
ment to which he belongs, and to observe all the regulations for the 
government of . . . deputy commissaries, respectively ; and that 
the executive powers of each State be in like manner requested to 
inquire into the number of persons employed in the . . . Com- 
missar}^ \s Department, and immediately to discharge such as shall be 
judged unnecessary. 

July 15, 1779. 

Mr. Persifer Frazer was nominated b}'" Mr. McKean for the office 
of clothier-general; 

Congress proceeded to the election; and, the ballots being taken, 

Mr. Persifer Frazer was elected. 

Juhi 19, 1779. — Mr. Frazer declined office of clothier-general. 

July 23, 1779. 

Resolved, That whensoever the business of the hide department shall 
require it in any State, the Board of War be authorized and directed to 
appoint a proper person to be commissary of hides therein, removable 
by the said board for mismanagement, or when by the alteration of 
circumstances in the particular State no such officer is further neces- 
sary; provided, that when the business of the Department will admit 
of it, two or more States may, by the said board, be put under the 
direction of one commissary; 

That the Board of War draw up instructions from time to time for 
the direction and government of the commissaries of hides in the 
respective States, and they are hereby enjoined to regulate their con- 
duct by such instructions; 

That it be reconnnended to the executive powers of the respective 
States in which conunissaries of hides are thought necessary to be 
appointed to superintend their conduct, and in case of delinquency to 



298 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

suspend the person acting in that office, informing Congress or the 
Board of War thereof, and of the reason on which such suspension is 
founded; 

That the clothier-general have the superintendence of the commis- 
saries of hides, and that he be allowed a clerk extraordinary to enable 
him to transact the business with the said commissaries, who shall make 
returns at least quarterly to the clothier-general, and he shall draw the 
whole of the returns received from the several commissaries into a 
general return and transmit the same quarterly to the Board of War; 

That the clothier-general supply moneys from time to time to the 
commissaries in the respective States, to enable them to perform their 
contracts and pay their assistants and clerks, and that he be furnished 
with money accordingly by the Board of Treasury, on estimates signed 
by the Board of War; 

That the respective commissaries of hides have so many assistants 
and clerks as in the opinion of the Board of War the tdrcumstances of 
their business shall from time to time require; 

That the pay of a commissary of hides be a sum not exceeding 300 
dollars per month, one ration per day, the value of three rations more, 
as it now is or hereafter shall be settled for officers in the line, and 
forage for one horse; 

That the pay of an assistant commissary be a sum not exceeding 140 
dollars per month, one ration per day, and the value of one ration 
more as above mentioned, and forage for one horse. 

Resolved, That the pay of a clerk be a sum not exceeding a hundred 
dollars per month, one ration per day, and the value of one ration 
more as aforesaid. 

July U, I'^'^d. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a clothier-general; and, the 
ballots being taken, 

Mr. James Wilkinson was elected, having been previously nomi- 
nated by Mr. Henry. 

August 16^ 1779. 

Besolved^ That the clothier general estimate the value of the several 
articles of soldiers' clothing at the prices they were respectively worth 
at the end of the year 1778, and forthwith transmit such estimates to 
the pa3'masters of the several regiments, who shall be furnished out 
of the military chest with moneys to pay the soldiers for all deficien- 
cies of clothing, at the estimated prices of every article as fixed by 
the clothier-general, who shall henceforward transmit like estimates 
before the close of every year during the war, so that the soldiers be 
paid by the regimental paymaster, according to such estimates annually, 
and previous to their discharge when the same happens before the end 
of the year, for all articles of clothing allowed them by the resolution 
of Congress of the 6th of September, 1777, which the}' have not 
received, and which are or shall be due to them after the year last 
mentioned. 

August 17, 1779. 

Ordered, That two members be added to the committee for superin- 
tending the departments of the . . . Commissary-General. 
The members chosen, Mr. Root and Mr. Scudder. 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 299 

Septemlfv 7, 1779. 

Resolved., That the commissary -general of purchases be directed to 
appoiut a deputy for the special purpose of providing for the troops 
of the convention of Saratoga and their guards during their stay in 
Virginia. 

•X- -x- * 

HesoJ/ved., That he give orders to the said deputy to confine his pur- 
chases to places from whence supplies for the armies of these States 
can not conveniently be drawn. 

Resolred, That the amounts of supplies for the said convention troops 
be kept distinct from the accounts of those purchased for and issued 
to the troops of the United States. 

September 4, 1779. — One hundred dollars monthly for subsistence allowed every 
cornet of horse until further orders. 

September 10, 1779. 

Resolved^ That it be earnesth" recommended to the governments of 
the several States immediately to provide large quantities of clothing 
for their respective quotas of troops. 

That particular attention be paid to the articles of hats, hose, shirts, 
blankets, and shoes, which are indispensably necessary and immedi- 
ately wanted, and without which the troops must severely sufi'er. 

That the clothing so purchased or procured by the States, respec- 
tively, be delivered to the sub or State clothiers agreeably to the 
ordinance of the 23rd of March last. 

That the sub or State clothiers make regular monthly returns to the 
clothier-general of all clothing received from their respective States. 

•X- * * 

Resolved, . . . That the Board of War be directed to inform 
the executive powers of the several States from time to time of any 
considerable additions to the stock of clothing provided b}" the United 
States, by importation or otherwise, that whensoever all or any con- 
sideralile part of the clothing for the troops is or shall be provided by 
the United States, the governments of the several States may cease 
further provisions. 

September 17, 1779. 

Resolved, That Congress entertain a just sense of the exertions of 
the Board of War in superintending and directing the necessary pur- 
chases of clothing for the Arm}^, and of their constant attention to 
that important business, and that it is necessary that the board should 
for the present campaign, and until some more expedient arrangement 
can be adopted, provide by every n^eans in their power, and upon the 
best terms they are able, the necessary supplies of clothing as aforesaid. 

September 27, 1779. 

Resolved, That a member bo added to the committee appointed to 
superintend the . . . Conunissar3'-Generars departments, and that 
another be elected in the room of Mr. Whipple, who is absent. 

The members chosen, Mr. Jenifer and Mr. Mercer. 



300 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

September 30, 1779. 

Resolved., That Mr. J. Bradford, Continental agent at Boston, be 
directed to sell and deliver, out of the stores of these United States 
there, to the State of New York, on or before the 1st day of January 
next, or to such person or persons as shall be authorized by them for 
the purpose, any quantity of sugar and rum, not exceeding 500 hogs- 
heads of the former and 50 hogsheads of the latter, at the current 
wholesale price of those articles in cash; and that it be recommended 
to the legislature or executive powers of the said State to cause the 
said i"um and sugar to be sold and distributed among the people in 
such manner as that all may partake of the benefit intended them, 
and at no higher price than will raise the amount of the prime cost 
and charges; 

That the marine committee be directed to give the necessary orders 
to enable the Commissary-General to perform his engagements actually 
made with the people for sugar, &c. 

* * * 

That the Commissary-General be informed that, although the neces- 
sity of the case may justify his using the expedient in this instance, 
yet Congress can not approve of his making any purchases in ordinary 
cases otherways than for money. 

October 18, 1779. 

Resolved, That the board of war be directed to give the necessary 
orders to the commissary-general of purchases and the commissary- 
general of issues for supplying the convention troops with rations of 
Indian meal, in lieu of flour. ... 

October 28, 1779. 

Resolved, That the board of war be authorized to purchase a quan- 
tity of leather, not exceeding 100,000 lbs. weight, in the State of 
South Carolina. 

That the board of war be authorized to draw upon the governor of 
the State of South Carolina for such sum or sums as will be necessary 
to pay for the said leather, and that the governor of the said State of 
South Carolina be requested to advance, out of the taxes raised on the 
Continental account, such sums as shall be drawn for by the board of 
war for that purpose. 

November 5, 1779. — Messrs. Wynkoop and Forbes were added to the committee 
appointed to superintend tlie commissary-general's department. 

November 11, 1779. — "The commissary -general having represented the diflflculty of 
keeping up his supplies of flour, owing to the uncommon drought which has stopped 
most of the mills, the Commander in Chief is under the necessity, on that account, 
of reducing the ration of that article till further orders to three-quarters of a pound 
per day, the deficiency to be made up in meat and roots. ' ' ( Orders, General Head- 
quarters, Moore' s House.) 

November 13, 1779. — "The commissaries to issue the following quantities of meat 
or vegetables in lieu of the reduced ration of flour: For every 100 lbs. of flour reduced 
from the issue, 75 lbs. beef or 50 lbs. pork, or, if received in vegetables, 2^ bushels 
pease, or 2h bushels beans, or 8 bushels potatoes, or 12 bushels turnips, and so on in 
l)roportion for any greater or less quantity." {Orders, General Headquarters, Moore's 
House.) 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPAETMENT. 301 

Novemler 16^ 1779. 

Resolved, That in addition to the subclothiers appointed by virtue 
of the ordinance of the 23rd of March, 1779, for regulating the cloth- 
ing department, the clothier-general, with the approbation of the board 
of war and the Commander in Chief, appoint a subclothier to receive 
from the clothier-general and the several sub-State clothiers the pro- 
portion of clothing assigned the artillery, cavalry, artificers, and corps 
composed of troops from different States, according to the general esti- 
mate, and to cause such clothing to be distributed to the officers and 
soldiers of the several corps aforesaid, and in all other respects to gov- 
ern his conduct in the execution of the said business agreeably to the 
regulation of Congress of the 23rd of March, 1779, respecting the 
subclothiers. 

November 17, 1779. — "The subclothiers of the respective States or those appointed 
to act pro temp, are to call at the clothier-general's store at New Burg to-morrow to 
receive their proportions of blankets; if the blankets differ in quality, the clothier- 
general is to regard this circumstance, giving to each State of the best and worst in 
due proportion." Soldiers who were enlisted for the war, or three years, are only 
entitled to blankets. (Orders, General Headquarters, Moore's House.) 

JVbvemher ^5, 1779. 

Whereas, Congress by sundry resolutions have provided that cloth- 
ing be furnished to officers of the line and others, at prices propor- 
tioned to their pay; but no enumeration of the articles intended to be 
comprehended in a suit of clothes having been made or any rules 
explicitly laid down for the delivery of or payment for the same: 

Resolved., That the following articles be delivered as a suit of clothes 
for the current and every succeeding year of their service to the offi- 
cers of the . . . staff, entitled by any resolution of Congress to 
receive the same, viz: 

One hat, one watch-coat, one body-coat, four vests, one for winter 
and three for summer; four pair of breeches, two for winter and two 
for summer, four shirts, four stocks, six pair of stockings, three pair 
thereof worsted and three of thread, four pair of shoes. 

For which articles of clothing the officers shall pay, on receipt 
thereof, one-half more than the prices at which the same were cur- 
rently sold before the commencement of hostilities in April, 1775; 
and for this end the purchasing agents employed on Continental account 
shall transmit to the clothier-general, with the clothing they shall 
respectively purchase, the prices marked thereon at the rates afore- 
said, and also current invoices of the same and copies of such rates and 
invoice, to the board of war, and all clothing purchased on Continental 
account by the respective States shall be valued, marked, and invoiced 
in like manner, and copies of such invoices and rates also transmitted 
to the board of war and the clothier-general; the clothing so pur- 
chased shall be distributed to and among the sub or State clothiers, to 
be issued by them to the regimental clothiers, and by the latter to the 
officers of the regiments and corps; and the said regimental clothiers 
shall receive from the officers, on delivery of the clothing, the prices 
thereof so fixed, and they shall every three months settle their accounts 
of monies received for clothing with the auditors of the army in which 
they shall serve, and pay the monies which in such settlements shall 
be found chargeable to them, or i n their hands, to the paymaster-general 



302 LEGISLATIVIO IIISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

or (Icputv ]):iyniiiHt('r-g(Mieral of tho army or dctiiclimont in which such 
rc<j;-iinctital clothier .shall servo; and tho said payinast(n--«>-onoral or dep- 
uty payinast(>r-<;eiioral sliall inak(^. roturus of tho amount of all such 
monies so received to the hoard of treasury, that the said i)aymastor- 
j^eneral oi'de!i)uty pay master- ooneral may beduly charo(>d with tho same. 
Tho auditors maivinji;" such settlements with tho rogimentalclothiors shall 
transmit to (he])aymaster or deputy ])aymastor-g-enoral abstracts of such 
Si^ttiements, specifying the balances due from the rooimental clothiers, 
resjH'ctivcly, that in cases of ne<;l(H't they may bo duly called on for 
])iivment oi' the same; co})ies of such abstracts shall also be transmitted 
totlie boai-d of ti'casury. Kxceptlni>- from this rule of distribution 
all stair ollicers not taken from the line, who are to receive their cloth- 
inj^ inunediately f I'oni tho clothi(>r-oeneral, or if attached to the corps 
of or rosidin*"- in any State at a distance from tho clothicr-g-enerars 
store, from the subclothier of such State, paying- for the same at the 
rates aforesaid; and all monies so received by the clothier-general or 
8ub or State clothiers shall beplaced totho ci'oditof the United States, 
and accoiuils theivof duly transmitted to the board of treasury, the 
clothier-o-cncral to be chai'oed in the settlement of his conting-ent 
account with the monies so receivinl and tho sub or State clothiers to 
be accountable for and ]);iy the monies received by them to tho order 
of the executive of the State appointing them, respectively, and the 
State to bo chai'g'ed in its clothing account Avith the amount of such 
monies. Excepting- also all statf officers who receive commissions on 
their expenditures of public monies, who are not to receive any cloth- 
ing ])rovid(Mi Jit Continental expense. 

That all clothing issued to noncommissioned officers and soldiers, 
enlistinl artiliciMs, and wagoners, beyond that allowed to them as a 
bounty, shall also bo valued and paid lV)r at tho rate before mentioned, 
but no nt)nconunissioned officer, soldier, wagoner, or artiiicer shall be 
entilliHl to purchase in any one year out of the public store any other 
additional articles than those of hats, hose, shirts, and shoes, and not 
more of these than are al)solutely necessary, and not exceeding' the 
nundxM- of the like articles allowed as their bounty clothing. 

That all the clothing before mentioned for officers in the line and 
soldiiM's shall bo issued on returns cortilied by the commanding- officer 
of the coi'ps to which they ludong; all clothing to statf officers on the 
certificate of their principal Avitli tho army or in the district within 
which they shall serve; to artiticers on tho certificate of the command- 
ing officer of their corps, and to wagoners on tho certiticate of the 
Q,u!irtermaster-(ieneral, one of the assistant quartermasters-general, or 
of the deputy quartermaster-general employing- them, or of the wagon 
master general, or deputy Avagon master general under whom they 
serve. 

That no stait* officer, artificer, or wagoner, not being engaged for at 
least t>no year, shall receive clothing; and if any such officer, artificer, 
or wagoner, being engaged for one year or more, after receipt of such 
clothing, shall quit the service beftn-e the expiration of the term for 
which iie or they are or shall be engaged, ho or they shall forfeit and 
pay the full value of such clothing- and be subject to all other penal- 
ties and inconveniences attending his or their In-each of contract or 
desertion. 

■x- x- * 

Jicitol ('<</. That (he departments of the . . . commissaries- 
general of purchajses and issues be, for the future, under the super- 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPAKTMENT. 303 

intondcncy and direction of the Board of War; and that the committee 
of Congress on those departments deliver over to the Board of War 
all papers in their hands respecting them and thereupon be discharged. 

Novemher '£6, 1770. 

ResoVoed^ . . . That no clothing shall be sold or delivered to 
noncommissioned officers or soldiers beyond the articles they have 
received as their l)oiinty until the whole of the Army shall have received 
their bounty clothing, it being the intention hereof that the surplus 
only shall be disposed of. 

November 29, 1779. — Jeremiah Wadsworth, commissary -general of purchases, was 
given leave to resign his office on January 1, 1780. 

NorerrJyer 30, 1779. 

Resolved, That the Board of War be directed to procure from the 
. commissaries-general, ... a return of all the assist- 
ants, deputies, officers, agents, and other persons employed in their 
respective departments, the districts in which they are so employed, 
and the terms upon which they are engaged; and that such returns be 
made by the first day of January next. 

December 3, 1779. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a commissary-general of pur- 
chases; and, the ballots being taken, 
Ephraim Blaine, esq., was elected. 

Decemher 4, 1779. 

Resolved, That J. Wadsworth, esq. , be informed that Congress have 
agreed to accept his resignation, and have elected Ephraim Blaine, 
esq., to succeed him, but as Mr. Blaine has not yet signified his accept- 
ance, and a failure of supplies may be attended with dangerous conse- 
quences, that Mr. Wadsworth, and the deputies under him, be desired 
to continue in the business of supplying the Army until his successor 
shall have accepted and shall be in capacity to enter upon and execute 
the duties of the office. 

Decemher 11, 1779. 

Resolved, That the legislature of the State of Virginia be requested 
to furnish for the Army of the United States, on or before the 1st 
day of April next, 20,000 barrels of Indian corn, and transport the 
same to such places within the said State as the commissarj'^-general of 
purchases shall direct. 

That the legislature of the State of Maryland ])e requested, in addi- 
tion to the 15,000 barrels of tiour heretofore required of them, to fur- 
nish for the Arni}^ of the United States, on or before the 1st day of 
April next, 5,000 barrels of flour and 5,000 barrels of Indian corn. 

That the State of Pennsylvania bo requested to furnish for the 
Army of the United States, on or before the 1st day of April next, 
50,000 barrels of flour, or wheat in proportion. 

That the 10,000 barrels of flour, or Avheat in proportion, heretofore 



304 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

requested from the State of Delaware by the committee of Cong-ress, 
be furnished as .soon as possible. 

That 8,000 barrels of flour be requested from the State of New 
Jersey, part of which to be furnished as soon as possible, to answer 
the immediate demands of the Army. 

That the State of Connecticut be requested to furnish for the Army 
of the United States 8,000 barrels of flour. 

Dec&tnber H^ 1779. 

Whereas the aid of the several States is necessary in furnishing 
provisions for the Armv and other supplies for carrying- on the war, 
and justice requires that they be called upon to furnish their respective 
quotas at equitable prices: 

Bemlved., That all States shall be called upon to furnish their quotas 
of such supplies as may, from time to time, be wanted for carrying on 
the war; and in making the requisitions due care shall be taken to 
suit the convenience of the several States; and the articles by them 
respectively furnished shall be credited towards their quotas of the 
monies which they are called upon to raise for the United States, at 
equal prices for articles of the same kind and quality, and for others 
in due proportion; and the accounts shall be tinally compared and 
adjusted so as to do equity to all the States. 

December 17, 1779. 

Resolved, That when the legislature of any State shall have under- 
taken to procure its quota of any of the articles required, all purchases 
of such articles by the commissaries . . . shall in such State be 
discontinued. 

December 24, 1779.— T\\e honorable the Board of War having procured a small 
supply of shirts and linen and directed the distribution of them among the officers of 
the line and staff who are not adopted by any State, the clothier-general is to 
deliver them upon returns signed bv the commanding officers and heads of the fol- 
lowing corps and departments at tlie rates directed by a resolve of Congress of the 
25th of November last: Eegiments of cavalry, of additional infantry, and companies 
of artillerv; Corps of Engineers, including sappers and miners; Armand's and Lee's 
corps; aides-de-camp not belonging to the line; surgeons of the general and flying 
hospital; muster-masters; judge-advocate; auditors and deputy paymaster-general; 
military surveyors. {Orders, General Headquarters, Morristomn.) 

January i, 1780. 

ResoUed, That the commissary -general of purchases be allowed a 
salary at the rate of 40.000 dollars by the year, until the further order 
of Congress; also six rations a day and forage for four horses. 

Resolved, That an assistant commissary be appointed by the Com- 
uiissary-General to each of the States in which it shall be necessary 
that purchases be made under him, and in which provision shall not 
have been made by the States, respectively, for furnishing the neces- 
sary supplies. 

That the said assistant conmiissaries be allowed on all good mer- 
chantable articles which may be purchased by them or under their 
direction, respectively, two per cent on 20-fold the prices they were 
sold at in the vear 1774, until the further order of Congress; out of 
which they shall pay all their agents and defray the whole expense 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 305 

attending- such purchases; nor shall they or any of their agents be 
entith^d to rations or forage, except when called by the necessary 
business of their department to attend the Army. 

And in order the better to ascertain such prices, 

Resolved, That the ex<M'utivc power of evi^ry State be requested to 
return to the board of treasury a list of the conunodities usually sold 
within such State, and the price current in the year 1774; and that 
copies of such lists be furnished from thence to the Commissary- 
General and his assistants; 

That the Conmiissary-General be directed to keep regular accounts, 
in which he shall chtirgc all persons belonging to his Department with 
the money advanced to them, and give them credit for the purchases 
made l)y them, entering their respective accounts at large; that he 
check all accounts Avithin his Department and reject improper charges; 
direct the manner in which the accounts of his respective deputies shall 
be kept, ordering the articles purchased to be entered under distinct 
heads, so that the expenditures for each separate article ma}" be seen 
at one view; that he shall once in every three months, or oftener if 
required, exhibit a fair and comprehensive vicAV of the state of his 
purchases, in columns; the manner in which the same has been expended, 
and the stock on hand, with the price of each article, and the State, 
county, and district in Avhich purchased; 

That every assistant commissary make monthly returns to the CJom- 
missary-General of the articles purchased, the price, the name of the 
agent by whom the same were ])ought, and the persons to whom deliv- 
ered, or, if still on hand, at what place stored; 

That no money be advanced to any assistant commissar}^ until he 
has made such returns and accounted for money received, rendering 
to the Conunissary-General receipts from his agents for the money 
advanced to them; 

That every assistant commissary call upon his agents for monthly 
returns of their expenditures, without Avhich returns no further sums 
be advanced to them, but that they be sued to account for the money 
in their hands; 

That the connnissary -general of issues be, and he is hereby, directed 
to make monthly returns of the number of rations issued, to what per- 
sons, and at what place, to the Board of War, in order to take their 
direction as to the continuing such issues; 

January 7, 1780. 

Resolved., That the commissary-general of purchases be empowered 
to appoint an assistant, whose duty it shall be to remain at head(|uar- 
ters and receive the directions of the Commander in Chief and the 
Connnissar3"-General; 

That the said assistants be allowed a salar}" at the rate of 10,000 dol- 
lars per annum, two rations a day, and forage for one horse, until the 
further order of Congress; 

That the coopers, butchers, packers, drovers, and superintendents 
of cattle be under the regulations and directions former!}^ established 
b}' resolutions of Congress. 

January 7, 1780. — A pound of hard or ^oft bread and one-quarter of a pound of 
Indian meal or a pound of flour and a pound of beef or fourteen ounces of pork to be 
the daily ration until further orders. {Orders, Oeneral Headquarters, Morristotvn.) 

S. Doc. 229 20 



306 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Jamiary 17^ 1780. 

Besolved., That in addition to his pay of 4 dollars per day, the said 
Asa Worthington [employed as inspector of cattle in the Department 
of the Commissary-General from November 18, 1778, to January 15, 
1780] be allowed the sum of 3,940 dollars in compensation for his 
services and expenses to this date. . . . 

* * -X- 

MesoJ/ved, That the commissary-general of purchases be allowed two 
clerks, to be by him appointed; 

That each of the said clerks be allowed the same salary as clerks of 
the board of treasury. 

January ^7, 1780. 

Resobded., . . . That the issuing commissaries be respectively 
directed not to deliver rations, or parts of rations, to any hospital com- 
missary, unless on returns signed by him and countersigned by the 
principal physician or surgeon of the respective hospitals, specifying 
the names and stations of the persons for whom, and for what time, 
the rations are drawn; and that the hospital commissary be also required 
to annex to each return the receipts of the persons to whom he shall 
have delivered the provisions drawn on the last return; 

That the commissarj^-general of issues direct the form of the returns 
and receipts aforesaid. 

January S7, 1780. — Issues of commissary stores to members of Congress under reso- 
lution of October 2, 1777, to be discontinued. 

February 25, 1780. 

Resolved., That the several States be called on forthwith to procure 
their respective quotas of supplies for the ensuing campaign as fol- 
lows, to wit: 

N. Hampshire. — 11,200 hundredweight of beef, 35,643 gallons of 
rum. 

Massachusetts Bay. — 56,000 hundredweight of beef, 12,126 bushels 
of salt, 195,628 gallons of rum. 

Rhode Island. — 2,240 hundredweight of beef, 2,000 bushels of salt, 
18,621 gallons of rum. . . . 

Connecticut. — 78,400 hundredweight of beef, 1,011 bushels of salt, 
68,558 gallons of rum. . . . 

New York.. — 11,200 hundredweight of beef, 13,969 barrels of 
flour. . . . 

New Jersey. — 18,000 hundredweight of beef, 10,000 barrels of flour, 
3,758 bushels of salt. . . . 

Pennsylvania. — 40,000 barrels of flour, 14,189 bushels of salt, 24,423 
gallons of rum. . . . 

Delaware.— Z,0^fy barrels of flour. . . . 

Maryland. — 40,000 hundredweight of beef, 20,000 ]>arrels of 
flour. ... 

Virqinia. — 47,000 hundredweight of beef, 1,278 barrels of flour, 
10,700 bushels of salt, 100,000 gallons of rum. . . . 

North Carolina. — 49,875 hundredweight of beef, 15,000 barrels of 
flour, 4,500 bushels of salt. ... 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPAKTMENT. 307 

South Carolina. — 16,000 hundredweight of beef, 52,000 hundred- 
weight of rice, 5,000 bushels of salt, 12,000 gallons of rum. . . . 

Resolved, That pork be received from an}^ State in lieu of beef, in 
quantities proportioned to the prices assigned to each. 

Resolved., That Continental rum, or other spirits suitable for the 
Army, be received in lieu of West India rum, in proportion to the 
prices assigned to each. 

Resolved, That the articles aforesaid be collected and deposited or 
delivered, at the risk of the respective States, in such places within 
(vach State, respectively, as the Commander in Chief shall judge most 
convenient. . . 

Provided, That such of the said articles as shall be destroyed or 
taken by the enemy, after being deposited as aforesaid, or which shall 
be damaged by long keeping, shall be paid for by the United States. 

Resolved, That the respective States be credited for all such com- 
modities, being of good and sufficient quality, as shall be received for 
the use of the United States, by persons appointed to inspect the same, 
at the prices following, to wit: 

Merchantable flour, per hundredweight gross, viz, 112 lb., 4^ dollars. 

Beef, best grass fed, which shall be delivered between the first day 
of July and the first of December, 5^ dollars per net hundredweight. 

Beef, best stall fed, which shall be delivered in the month of Decem- 
ber, 6i dollars per net hundredweight; and for all that shall be delivered 
after the 1st of January and before the 1st of July, 8 dollars per net 
hundredweight. 

Fresh pork, well fatted with corn or rice, 7 dollars per net hundred- 
weight; salted pork, per barrel, well fatted as aforesaid, containing 220 
D). net, 22 dollars; salted beef, per barrel, containing 240 lb. net, 17i 
dollars; . . . rice, well cleaned, per bushel, 1 dollar; white beans 
and peas, per bushel, li dollars; wheat, per bushel, weighing 60 lb., 1^ 
dollars; spelts, i dollar per bushel; buckwheat, per bushel, f of a dol- 
lar; rough rice, f of a dollar per bushel; merchantable rice, 3 dollars 
per hundredweight; . . . West India rum, good proof , If dollars 
per gallon; best alum or rock salt, per bushel, 3 dollars; and other 
salt in proportion. 

Continental rum, good proof, 1 dollar; and other spirits, good proof, 
suitable for the Army, at prices in the usual proportions to the price 
of rye. 

Resolved, That when any State shall have taken the necessarj^ meas- 
ures for furnishing its quota of the said supplies and shall have given 
information thereof to Congress, such State be authorized to carry 
into effect the resolution of the 17th of December last for discontinuing 
purchase of such supplies by the commissaries . , . within the 

same. 

* * * 

Resolved, That it be recommended to the States to furnish such parts 
of their quotas of meat, in beef cattle, as the commissaries shall from 
time to time have occasion for, to supply the Army with fresh beef 
through the different seasons of the year. 

That only such quantities of beef and pork be salted, to be delivered 
in barrels, as shall be requested by the Commissary-General. 

That the hides and tallow of the beef cattle, delivered on foot, shall 
be received and credited at the same price as the beef. 

That the provisions furnished b}' authority of any State for the use 



308 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

of the Army since the first day of December last may be credited as 
part of the quota of supplies assigned to such State at the prices fixed 
in the foregoing resolutions, if such State desire it. 

July 10, 1780. 

Resolved, That all clothing arriving from Europe belonging to the 
United States be delivered at the port of arrival to the agents appointed 
b}' the Board of War to receive them, without passing through the 
hands of the Continental agents for prizes, any former order to the 
contrary notwithstanding. 

July 15, 1780. 

Hesolved, That the following proportion of wagons and bathorses 
be allowed to the different ranks of officers, and no more, unless it be 
by order of the Commander in Chief, or commanding officer of a sepa- 
rate armv, ... to wit: 



A commissarj^ and his deputy of purchases or issues ... 1 cov 
ered 4-horse wagon. 

A deputy commissary with a separate arm}" ... 1 two-horse 
wagon or two bathorses. 

-X- * * 

Resolved, That, in addition to the forage allowed for the wagon and 
bathorses by these regulations, there be issued . . . : 

To a . . . commissary -general of purchases, four [rations]; 
commissary-general of issues, two; brigade commissar}^, one; . 

August 22, 1780. 

Whereas it is of the utmost importance effectually to prevent the 
destruction, waste, embezzlement, and misapplication of the public 
stores and provisions upon which the existence of the armies of these 
United States may depend, and no adequate provision hath been made 
for the just punishment of delinquents in the departments of the 
commissary-general of purchases, commissary-general of 
issues, clothier-general, . . . and hide department: Therefore, 

Resolved, That every person in any of the said departments intrusted 
with the care of provisions or military or hospital stores, or other 
property of these United States, who shall be convicted at a general 
court-martial, of having sold, without a proper order for that purpose, 
embezzled, or willfully misapplied, damaged, or spoiled any of the 
provisions, horses, forage, arms, clothing, ammunition, or other mili- 
tar}^ or hospital stores, or property belonging to the United States of 
America, shall suffer death or such other punishment as shall be 
directed by a general court-martial, according to the nature and degree 
of the offense, at the discretion of such court; and every person in any 
of the said departments, intrusted as aforesaid, who shall be convicted 
at a general court-martial of having, through neglect, suffered any of 
the articles aforesaid to be wasted, spoiled, or damaged, shall suffer 
such punishment as the said court shall, in their discretion, direct, 
according to the degree of the offense. 



THE SUliSISTENOE DEPARTMENT. 309 

August 2S^ 1780. 

Resolved, That no certificates issued in the . . . and commis- 
sary's departments after the 15th da}^ of September next, afi'ord any 
claim upon the United States, unless issued under the following regu- 
lations : 

1st. That the}" be for services performed or articles purchased within 
their respective departments. 

Sdly. The . . . commissar3r-general shall themselves sign all 
such certificates as are issued in their respective departmej^its. 

3dly. All such certificates shall be given for specie or other current 
money equivalent. 

4thly. All contracts or purchases made, for which certificates shall 
be given, shall be made for specie value. 

Sthly. The articles so purchased shall be enumerated in such certifi- 
cates, with the rates and prices thereof; and the prices shall be reason- 
able when the present circumstances of our afi'airs are compared with 
the cost of articles of like qualit}^, or services performed, in the year 
1775, or when compared with the allowance by Congress to the United 
States, as expressed in their resolution of the 25th of February last. 

Resolved., That the certificates issued under and agreeable to the 
foregoing regulations shall bear an interest of six per cent per aniuim 
from the time stipulated for payment until paid. 

Resoh'ed., That the . . . connnissar3"-general be, and hereby are, 
strictly enjoined to make monthly returns of their purchases and pro- 
ceedings to the board of war, and make monthly returns, to wit, on 
the last day of every month, to the board of treasury, of all certificates 
so issued as aforesaid. 

August 26, 1780. 

Resolved., That, all and singular, the creditors of these United States 
for supplies furnished the Army, or the transportation thereof, shall 
be entitled to receive the just value of the sums due them, respectively, 
in the bills of credit emitted pursuant to the act of the 18th of March 
last, the value of the sums due to be ascertained according to the cur- 
rent value of Continental bills of credit compared with specie at the 
time the mone}' became due, at the place where the supplies were fur- 
nished; provided the same do not exceed the prices fixed for such sup- 
plies by the act of the 25th of February last, or a proportionate value 
for services done and articles furnished not mentioned in the said act; 
but if the nominal sum, in Continental currency, contracted for, when 
reduced to specie value as aforesaid, shall exceed the fixed prices afore- 
said, the creditor shall be entitled to receive the amount of the sup- 
plies furnished or service done at the said fixed or proportionate prices 
in the new bills aforesaid, or the nominal sum contracted for in Conti- 
nental bUls of credit, and no more, at his election. 

That the accounts being duly examined and adjusted by the rule 
aforesaid, b}" commissioners that may be appointed agreeably to the 
resolution of the 12th of June last to settle the accounts of officers of 
the staff departments in the several States, or by the officer who made 
the contract or ])y whom the payment is to be made, the same shall be 
paid, or a certificate given for the sum justly due, certifying that the 
same has been duly examined and adjusted, agreeably to the directions 
aforesaid; and, if paid in the new bills, the interest on the said bills 
shall be computed to the date of such certificate. 



olO LECUSLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

That all debts duo to the United States for monies received for their 
use, or otherwise. Avithin any of these States, shall be paid aeeording 
to the just value of the money when it was received or became due, 
to be ascertained as aforesaid. 

August 28, 1780. — "Great irregularity having prevailed in the issues of rum to the 
several brigades, for the future it is to' be issued in the following jiroportion when 
there is anv in the magazine: To a col. or It. eol.-i'omniaudant, half a gallon per 
week; to a It. i-ol. or niaj., three pints per week; to a eapt., two pints; and a subal- 
tern, a pint and a lialf per week. Rum is to be issued to the soldiery in rainy weather 
and on fatigu.e, but on no other occasions, except by special order from headquar- 
ters at a gill per man." {Orders, General ILodqaartcrs, Teaii Xecl:) 

Auijust SO, nSO.— ''It was omitted in the order of the 28th instant regulating the 
issue of rum that the regimental surgeons are to draw the same quantity as a capt. 
and the mates as a subaltern." ( Orders, Geiteral Headquarters, Tean ISech.) 

September 8, 1780. 

Besolved^ That magazines of provisions . . . for 15.000 men for 
6 months be immediately provided and laid up for the southern arm3^ 

That two-thirds of the llour and beef required from ^hiryland, by 
the resolution of the 25th of February last, be retained in that State 
for the above purpose, and stored at some safe and convenient places 
on or near navigable water. 

litsolvtd. That North Caroliiui furnish magazines of . . . flour 
and salted provisions to the utmost of their ability, to be stored at 
such convenient places as to the commanding officer of the southern 
department shall appear most eligible. 

Septemher 15 j 1780. 

Ordered, That the committee appointed to confer with the directors 
of the Bank of Philadelphia apply to the said directors and request 
them to purchase 500 head of cattle, in lieu of part of the flour engaged 
by them to Congress, or to furnish the Counnissary-General with suf- 
flcient money to purchase the said cattle, for which the Commissary- 
General is to lie ticcountable, a duplicate receipt to be taken and lodged 
with the treasury board. 

SesoJvtd, That for the supply of the Army the States of New Hamp- 
shire, Massachusetts Bay, and Connecticut be called upon to furnish 
weekly 1.000 head of cattle, in the following proportions, to wit: 

New Hampshire "6 

^lassaohusetts Bay 315 

Connecticut 539 

1,000 

Ordered^ That copies of the above resolution be forwarded bv express 
to the said States, respectively, and that the President, in his letter, 
urge the necessity of an immediate and full compliance therewith, and 
the fatal consequences which must fall upon the Army in case of fail- 
ure in either. 

J^esolved, That the States of New Jersey. Pennsylvania, and Dela- 
ware be requested, with all possible despatch, to furnish for an imme- 
diate supply to the Army the following number of cattle, to wit: 

New Jersey 275 

Pennsylvania 1' 251 

Delaware ^30 

2,056 



THE SUBSIST1:NCE DEPAKTMEJStT. 311 

That for defraying the expenses of forwarding the said cattle to the 
Army from the States of New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, and 
Connecticut (for a weekl}- supply) warrants be drawn monthly upon 
the loan offices of the said States in favor of the Commissary-General 
until the further order of Congress, in money of the new emission, viz: 

On the loan office for the State of New Hampshire, for 1,418|- dol- 
lars; Massachusetts Bay, T,186f dollars; Connecticut, 5,030f dollars. 

And for defraying the expenses of forwarding, for an immediate 
supply, the cattle from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, 
that warrants be drawn on the loan offices of the said States in favor 
of the Commissary-General for the following sums in money of the 
new emission, viz: 

On the loan offices of the State of New Jersey, for 550 dollars: 
Pennsylvania, 2,819 dollars; Delaware, 1,236 dollars. 

And that the Commissary-General be authorized, in case an}' of the 
said States have not received their money of the new emission, to apply 
to the executive of the said States, who are requested to advance him, 
upon the said warrants, an equivalent in other money. 

September M, 1780. 

Resolved., That it be recommended to the State of Maryland to send 
immediate!}^ to the main army 500 head of neat cattle, over and above 
the quantity of meat required by the resolution of the 25th of Feb- 
ruarj' last. . . . 

September 9.5, 1780. 

Resolved., . . . The commissary of issues shall be obliged to 
deliver to the Inspector-General, and assistant inspector with a separate 
army, an abstract, by brigades, of the rations actually issued, and of 
all issues to all separate corps, garrisons, and detachments. 

September 30, 1780. 

Resolved., . . . That the several officers [of the hospital depart- 
ment] shall each be entitled annually to draw clothing from the stores 
of the clothier-general, in the same manner and under the same regu- 
lations as are established for officers in the line by a resolution of 
Congress of the 25th of November, 1779. 

That the returns for clothing for officers in the medical staff (regi- 
mental surgeons and their mates, who are to draw with the regimental 
staff, excepted) be signed by the director, or one of the chief hospital 
ph3^sicians; and such clothing shall be delivered either by the clothier- 
general, or any subclothier in the State in which the officer to receive 
clothing shall reside, in the same manner as is provided in the cases of 
other staff officers not taken from the line. 

October 15, 1780. — "The issuing commissaries are to deliver all their sheep and 
calve skms to the field commissary of military stores with the park of artillerj', who 
will have them properly dressed for drumheads." {Orders, General Headquarters, 
Totowa. ) 

October 2S, 1780. — "The officers of the Army are to be furnished with two rations 
per day till further orders." {Orders, General Headquarters, Toto^va.) 



312 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

October ^4, 17 SO. 

Resolved., That E. Blaine, comiiii.s.sary -general of purchases, be 
directed to make accurate returns to Congress of the supplies fur- 
nished by each State since the last day of December last. 

Novemher .^, 1780. 

Resolved., That it be, and hereby is, recommended to the several 
States to lev}^ in the proportions hereafter mentioned, a tax, equal in 
value to 6,000,000 of silver dollars, to be paid partly in the specific 
articles and at the prices hereafter enumerated, and the residue in gold 
or silver or bills of credit emitted pursuant to the resolution of the 
18th of March last. 

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 

2,600 barrels of beef, at Y\\, dollars per barrel. 
6,000 hundredweight of beef, at 5i dollars per hundredweight. 
2,000 hundredweight of beef, at 8 dollars per hundredweight, 
20,124 gallons of -West India rum. full proof, at If dollars per gallon. 



MASSACHUSETTS BAY. 

16,000 barrels of beef, at 17i dollars per barrel. 

2,000 barrels of pork, at 22 dollars per barrel. 

29,250 hundredweight of beef, at 5^ dollars per hundredweight. 

9,750 hundredweight of beef, at 8 dollars per hundredweight. 

71:,576 gallons of West India rum, full proof, at If dollars per gall 

13,000 bushels of salt, at 3 dollars per bushel. 



Lon. 



RHODE ISLAND AND PROVIDENCE PLANTATIONS. 

900 barrels of beef, at 17i dollars per barrel. 
83 barrels of pork, at 22 dollars per barrel. 
1,500 hundredweight of beef, at 5i dollars per hundredweight. 
500 hundredweight of beef, at 8 dollars per hundredweight. 
20,000 gallons of West India rum. full proof, at If dollars per 
gallon. 

CONNECTICUT. 

15,000 barrels of beef, at Vl\ dollars per barrel. 

3,000 barrels of pork, at 22 dollars per barrel. 

18,750 hundredweight of beef, at h\ dollars per hundredweight. 

6,250 hundredweight of beef, at 8 dollars per hundredweight. 

25,000 gallons of West India rum, full proof, at If dollars per gallon. 

813 bushels of salt, at 3 dollars per bushel. . . . 

NEW YORK. 

2,800 barrels of beef, at Yi\ dollars per barrel. 

1,500 barrels of pork, at 22 dollars per barrel. 

16,000 barrels of flour, at 9 dollars per barrel. 

1,320 hundredweight of beef, at h\, dollars per hundredweight. 

441 hundredweight of beef, at 8 dollars per hundredweight. . . . 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 313 

NEW JEKSET. 

3,000 barrels of beef, at ITi dollars per barrel. 

4,000 barrels of pork, at 22 dollars per barrel. 

12,000 barrels of flour, at 9 dollars per barrel. 

4,000 hundredweight of beef, at 5^ dollars per hundredweight. 

1,383 hundredweight of beef, at 8 dollars per hundredweight. 

996 bushels of salt, at 3 dollars per bushel. . . . 

PENNSYLVANIA. 

3,000 barrels of beef, at 17i dollars per barrel. 

2,000 barrels of pork, at 22 dollars per barrel. 

1,500 hundredweight of beef, at 5i dollars per hundredweight. 

500 hundredweight of beef, at 8 dollars per hundredweight. 

55,000 barrels of flour, at 9 dollars per barrel. 

50,000 gallons of West India rum, full proof, at If dollars per gallon. 

13,028 bushels of salt, at 3 dollars per bushel. . . . 

DELAWARE. 

800 barrels of pork, at 22 dollars per barrel. 

3,171 barrels of flour, at 9 dollars per barrel. 

2,000 gallons of West India rum, full proof, at If dollars per gallon. 

500 bushels of salt, at 3 dollars per bushel. 

MARYLAND. 

4,800 barrels of beef, at ITi dollars per barrel. 

5,500 barrels of pork, at 22 dollars per barrel. 

20,000 barrels of flour, at 9 dollars per barrel. 

9,000 hundredweight of beef, at 5i dollars per hundredweight. 

3,000 hundredweight of beef, at 8 dollars per hundredweight. 

17,007 gallons of West Indian rum, full proof, at If dollars per gallon. 

4,000 bushels of salt, at 3 dollars per bushel. . . . 

VIRGINIA. 

9,000 barrels of beef, at 17i dollars per barrel. 

10,617 barrels of pork, at 22 dollars per barrel. 

7,529 barrels of flour, at 9 dollars per barrel. 

23,670 hundredweight of beef, at 5i dollars per hundredweight. 

7,890 hundredweight of beef, at 8 dollars per hundredweight. 

70,292 gallons of West India rum, full proof, at If dollars per gallon. 

6,673 bushels of salt, at 3 dollars per bushel. . . . 

NORTH CAROLINA. 

3,000 barrels of beef, at 17^ dollars per barrel. 
5,000 barrels of pork, at 22 dollars per barrel. 
6,000 barrels of flour, at 9 dollars per barrel. 
7,500 hundredweight of beef, at 5| dollars per hundredweight. 
2,500 hundredweight of beef, at 8 dollars per hundredweight. 
991 bushels of salt, at 3 dollars per bushel. 

21,000 gallons of West India rum, full proof, at If dollars per 
gallon. . . . 



314 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Resolved^ That the articles aforesaid be delivered by the respective 
States on or before the several dates hereafter mentioned, at such place 
or places within the respective States as the Commander in Chief shall 
direct, viz: 

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 

2,600 barrels of beef, 8.000 g-allons of rum. on or before the 1st da^^ 
of January, 1781. 

1,500 gallons of rum, on or before the 1st day of March, 1781. 
3,000 gallons of rum, on or before the 1st day of May, 1781. 
12,02-1 gallons of rum, on or before the 15th day of July, 1781. 

MASSACHUSETTS BAY. 

16,000 barrels of beef, 2,000 barrels of pork, 18,000 gallons of rum, 
2,000 bushels of salt, on or before the 1st day of Januarv, 1781. 

9,000 gallons of rum, 1,000 bushels of salt, on or before the 1st day 
of March, 1781. 

18,000 gallons of rum. 2.000 bushels of salt, on or before the 1st 
day of May. 1781. 

29,570 gallons of rum, 8,000 bushels of salt, on or b^^fore the 15th 
day of July. 1781. 

RHODE ISLAND. 

900 barrels of beef, 83 barrels of pork, 3,000 gallons of rum. on or 
before the 1st day of January, 1781. 

1,500 gallons of rum, on or before the 1st day of March, 1781. 
3,000 gallons of rum, on or before the 1st day of May. 1781. 
12,508 gallons of rum, on or before the 15th day of July. 1781. 

CO'NNECTICUT. 

15,000 barrels of beef, 3,500 barrels of pork, 4,000 gallons of rum, 
on or before the 1st day of January, 1781. 

2,000 gallons of rum, on or before the 1st day of March. 1781. 

4,000 gallons of rum, on or before the 1st day of ]Mav. 1781. 

15,000 gallons of rimi, 813 bushels of salt, on or before the 15th of 
July, 1781. 

NEW YORK. 

2,800 barrels of beef, 1,500 barrels of pork, 4,000 barrels of Hour, 
on or before the 1st day of January. 1781. 

2,000 barrels of Hour, on or before the 1st day of ]March, 1781. 
4,000 barrels of Hour, on or before the 1st day of May, 1781. 
6,000 barrels of Hour, on or before the 15th day of July, 1781. 

NEW JERSEY. 

3,000 barrels of beef, 4,000 barrels of pork, 2,0(H) barrels of Hour, 
on or before the 1st day of January, 1781. 

1.000 barrels of Hour, on or before the 1st dav of March, 1781. 

2,000 barrels of Hour, on or before the 1st day of May. 1781. 

7,000 barrels of Hour, ^'^'^ bushels of salt, on or before the 15th of 
July, 1781. 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 315 

PENNSYLVANIA. 

3,000 barrels of beef, 2,000 barrels of pork, 6,000 barrels of flour, 
9,000 gallons of rum, 2,000 bushels of salt, on or before the 1st day 
of January, 1781. 

3,000 barrels of flour, 1,500 gallons of rum, 1,000 bushels of salt, on 
or before the 1st of March, 1781. 

6,000 barrels of flour, 9,000 gallons of rum, 2,000 bushels of salt, on 
or before the 1st day of May, 1781. 

40,000 barrels of flour, 27,500 gallons of rum, 8,028 bushels of salt, 
on or before the 15th of Jul3^, 1781. 

DELAWARE. 

800 barrels of pork, 500 barrels of flour, on or before the 1st day of 
January, 1781. 

250 barrels of flour, on or before the 1st day of March, 1781. 

500 barrels of flour, on or before the flrst day of May, 1781. 

2,221 barrels of flour, 2,000 gallons of rum, 500 bushels of salt, on 
or before the 15th of July, 1781. 

aiARYLAND. 

4,800 barrels of beef, 5,500 barrels of pork, 2,500 barrels of flour, 
800 gallons of rum, 1,000 bushels of salt, on or before the 1st of Janu- 
ary, 1781. 

1,250 barrels of flour, 100 gallons of rum, 500 bushels of salt, on or 
before the 1st day of March, 1781. 

2,500 barrels of flour, 800 gallons of rum, 1,000 bushels of salt, on 
or before the 1st day of Ma}^, 1781. 

13,750 barrels of ilour, 15,007 gallons of rum, 1,500 bushels of salt, 
on or before the 15th day of July, 1781. 

VIRGINIA. 

9,000 barrels of beef, 10,617 barrels of pork, 2,500 barrels of flour, 
11,000 gallons of rum, 1,000 bushels of salt, on or before the 1st day 
of January, 1781. 

1,250 barrels of flour, 5,500 gallons of rum, 500 bushels of salt, on 
or before the 1st day of March, 1781. 

2,500 barrels of flour, 11,000 gallons of rum, 1,000 bushels of salt, 
on or before the 1st day of May, 1781. 

1,279 barrels of flour, 12,792 gallons of rum, 4,173 bushels of salt, 
on or before the loth of July, 1781. 

NORTH CAROLINA. 

3,000 barrels of beef, 5,000 barrels of pork, 2,000 barrels of flour, 
4,000 gallons of rum, on or before the 1st day of January, 17§1. 

1,000 barrels of flour, 2,000 gallons of rum, on or before the 1st day 
of March, 1781. 

2,000 barrels of flour, 4,000 gallons of rum, on or before the 1st day 
of May, 1781. 

1,000 barrels of flour, 11,000 gallons of rum, 991 bushels of salt, no 
or before the 15th of July, 1781. 



816 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENEEAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Resolved^ That each barrel of beef contain 240 pounds net; each 
barrel of pork contain 220 pounds net; each barrel of flour contain 
224 pounds net. 

That the beef on foot shall be delivered at such times and places as 
the Commissary-General shall order. 

Resolwd, That a return be made on the days aforesaid, respectively, 
to the board of war, and duplicates to the Commissary-General. 
* * * 

Resolved^ That pork be received from any State in lieu of beef, or 
beef in lieu of pork, in quantities proportioned to the prices annexed 
to each by a resolution of Congress of the 25th of February last. 

That continental rum, or other spirits suitable for the Army, be 
received in lieu of West India rum, in proportion to the prices assigned 
to each by the said resolution. 

That Indian meal, well sifted or bolted, be received in lieu of flour, 
in the proportion of one pound and a half of the former for one pound 
of the latter, to be issued to the Army in the same proportion; pro- 
vided, that no Indian meal be thus commutable after the first day of 
March, without the approbation of the ofiicer commanding in the 
department. 

Novefmher 16^ 1780. 

A letter of the 10th, from Charles Stewart, commissary -general of 
issues, was read respecting the resignation and settlement of the 
account of James Gray, deputy commissary -general at Albany, and 
proposing that James Gamble, who is now in the department with the 
grand army, may be appointed to conduct the business heretofore 
under the charge of Mr. Gray, until the settlement of Mr. Gray's 
accounts; whereupon, 

Resolved., That Congress approve of the said proposal; that the 
said commissary -general be directed to carry the same into effect, and 
Mr. Gray settle his accounts without loss of time. 

November 25, 1780. 

Resolved., . . . That the commissary-general of purchases be 
directed to form a sufficient magazine of provisions at Carlisle for the 
supply of the post. 

November 30, 1780. 

Resolved, That there be a commissary -general of purchases, whose 
duty shall be to purchase provisions under the direction of Congress, 
the Commander in Chief, or board of war; to call upon the principal 
State agents or commissioners for such supplies as their respective 
legislatures shall make provision for, and to keep up a regular corre- 
spondence with them, to the end that their prospects of furnishing 
such supplies may be fully known, of which correspondence he shall 
keep a fair and correct register, as well as of every other official trans- 
action;, to direct the quantities and species of provisions to be stored 
in the magazines of the several States, under the orders of the Com- 
mander in Chief, and cause the same to be forwarded to the Army, as 
occasion may require; for which purpose he is hereby empowered to 
call on the Quartermaster-General and the deputy quartermasters for 
the means of transportation; to make monthly returns to the Com- 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 317 

mander in Chief and board of war of all persons employed by him, 
specifying for what time and on what terms; and of all provisions 
received in each month, from whom, from what State, and the quan- 
tities delivered to the issuing commissaries, their names, and at what 
posts; also of all provisions remaining on hand, at what magazines 
and in whose care; the returns to be made up to the last day of each 
month and forwarded as soon after as may be; to cause all his accounts 
with the United States to be closed annually, on the 1st day of Janu- 
ary, and laid before the board of treasury for settlement by the 1st 
day of March ensuing. 

That there be a deputy commissary of purchases for the southern 
army, appointed by the Commissary-General, whose duty shall be the 
same with respect to that army as that of the Commissary-General with 
the main army; he shall make his returns to the commanding officer 
of the southern army, and to the Commissary-General, to whom he 
shall be responsible. 

The Commissary-General and deputy commissary shall each appoint 
1 assistant commissary, 1 superintendent of live stock, 2 clerks, and as 
many butchers, coopers, drovers, and laborers as may be necessary for 
conducting the business of the department, and shall have power to fix 
the pay of the butchers, coopers, drovers, and laborers, subject to the 
control of the board of war. 

That the pay of the several officers in the department be in the bills 
emitted in pursuance of the resolution of the 18th day of March last, 
as follows: 

The Commissary-General 177 dollars per month, 3 rations for him- 
self and servants, and fofage for 2 horses; deputy commissary 125 
dollars per month, 2 rations for himself and servant, and forage for 2 
horses. 

Assistant commissaries 75 dollars per month, 2 rations and forage for 
1 horse. 

Superintendent of live stock 50 dollars per month, 1 ration and forage 
for 1 horse. 

Clerks 10 per month and 1 ration. 

Resolved^ That no officer appointed under the foregoing regulations 
be entitled to draw any pay unless he produce a certificate of his hav- 
ing taken the oaths prescribed by the resolution of February 3rd, 
1778; 

Resolved., That Ephraim Blaine, esq., be continued commissary- 
general of purchases; 

That it be recommended to the several States immediately to inform 
the Commissarj^-General and deputy commissary of the names of their 
principal agents or commissioners, respectively, for supplying the 
Arm 3% and to oblige them to give information, from time to time, to 
the Commissary-General or the deputy commissary with the southern 
army, as the case may be, of their prospects, and how far they shall 
be able to comply with their requisitions; 

That the live stock to be furnished by the several States be deliv- 
ered to such storekeepers within each State, at such times and in such 
quantities as the Commissar3-General or deputy' commissar}^ shall 
direct, under the regulations contained in the act of Congress of the 
15th of July last for the delivery of all other public property; 

That the storekeepers appointed b}- the deputy quartermasters be 
subject to the orders of the Commissary-General, to whom they are 



818 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

to make monthly returns of all their receipts and deliveries, as far as 
respects his departments, and in such manner as he shall direct; 

That all the resolutions of Congress heretofore made respecting the 
department of the commissary-general of purchases be, and they are 
hereby, repealed. 

Felruary 17, 1781. 

Resolved, That the principal superintendent of bakers in the Army 
of the United States receive, in bills of the new emission 50 dollars per 
month and two rations a day, and forage for one horse; 

That the superintendent of bakers make I'egular monthly returns to 
the commissary-general of issues, and that he receive monies, from 
time to time, by warrants from the Commander in Chief out of the 
military chest, for payment of wages and carrying on the business of 
his department. 

That Mr. Christopher Ludwick, who has acted with great industry 
and integrity in the character of principal superintendent of bakers, 
be, and is hereby, continued in that employment, and that he be 
empowered to hire or enlist any number of bakers, not exceeding 30, 
on such terms as the board of war shall think proper; 

That Mr. Christopher Ludwick receive as a compensation for all 
past services, 1,000 dollars in bills of the new emission. 

Felruary W, 1781. 

Besolved, That the board of war be, and hereby are, directed to fur- 
nish the southern arm}^ with 10,000 suits of clothes, complete; . . . 
8,000 knapsacks, 6,000 haversacks, 8,000 canteens, 700 camp kettles, 
8,000 blankets. . . . 

March 27, 1781. — Congress accepted resignation of J. Wilkinson, clothier-general. 

April 17, 1781. 

Resolved, That the clothier-general, before he enters into office, shall 
give bond in such sum as the board of treasury shall think sufficient, 
with two or more sufficient sureties, for the due performance of his 
office, which bond shall be lodged in the treasury office. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a clothier-general; and the 
ballots being taken, 

Mr. John Mo3dan was elected, having been previously nominated 
by Mr. Burke. 

April 19, 1781. 

Whereas differences have arisen between . . . commissaries 
and persons claiming to be creditors of the United States for articles 
furnished by or taken from them and for services performed by them, 
for which no vouchers have been given or for which the vouchers may 
be lost, or, having vouchers, it is doubtful whether the account can be 
adjusted in either of the departments of the . . . Commissary- 
General; to remedy which. 

Resolved, That every such claim as aforesaid which shall have been 
submitted to the inspection of the Continental commissioners for audit- 
ing and adjusting accounts and by them certified shall, by the . . . 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 319 

commissary, be allowed and may be paid, or eertiticatcs given for the 
same, in like manner as is directed in the act of Congress of the 26th 
of August, 1780. 

April 21, 1781. 

Resolved, That the superintendent of finance be, and he is hereby, 
authorized to remove from office or employment, for incapacity, neg- 
ligence, dishonesty, or other misbehavior, such persons, not immedi- 
ately appointed by the United States in Congress assembled, as are or 
may be officially entrusted with and immediately employed in the 
expenditure of the public supplies, stores, and other propert}^; . , . 
and such of the said persons as are or may be in his judgment unnec- 
essary, reporting to such authority, board, minister, or officer, to whom 
it may belong to supply the vacancy, the respective names of the per- 
sons so removed. 

That he l)e authorized to suspend from office or emploj'ment, for 
similar causes, persons officially emplo3"ed and entrusted as aforesaid 
immediately appointed by the United States in Congress assembled, 
reporting forthwith their names and the reason of suspension. 

Provided, that in all cases where any of the persons aforesaid are or 
may be amenable to the law martial, the superintendent, be and he is 
hereby, authorized and directed, if he shall deem it most expedient 
for the public service, to put them in arrest by order in writing and 
to appl}^ to the officer whose duty it may be to order a court-martial, 
and such officer is hereb}^ directed to order proceedings on the arrest 
accordingl3^ 

That in every case of suspension all pay and emoluments cease from 
the date thereof, unless the person suspended be, upon trial, acquitted 
and restored; and the superintendent shall have power to supply the 
place when it ma}' be necessary by a temporary appointment, to con- 
tinue until the person suspended be restored or dismissed. 

That the aforesaid powers shall not be construed to interfere with 
the rank, commission, or military duty of any officer in the line of the 
Armj^, or those who may be duly entrusted with money for secret 
service by Congress, or the Commander in Chief of the Army, or com- 
manding officer of a separate department. 

That the powers aforesaid be exercised during the pleasure of Con- 
gress, but not to extend beyond the duration of the war. 

May 5, 1781. — "The honorable the Congress having by their resolve of the 17th of 
April lajdt appointed John Moylan, esq., clothier-general of the Army," etc. ( Orders, 
General Headquarters, New Windsor. ) 

Ju7ie 18, 1781. 

Resolved, That all State purchases of clothing on Continental account 
and all State appointments and regulations in the clothing department 
on Continental account be abolished on the first day of September; at 
or before which time the sub and agent clothiers are to deliver to the 
clothier-general or his order all clothing procured at Continental 
expense which they may then have on hand, taking his receipt therefor, 
a duplicate whereof to be transmitted to the treasur}^ office. 
* * •::• 

Resolved, That the clothier-general in the month of June, annually, 
make and deliver in to the board of war an estimate of clothing and 
disbursements for clothing for a year from the first day of November, 



320 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

then next, that Congress may be enabled to furnish the proper sums 
and adopt the necessary measures for procuring the same. 

That all noncommissioned officers and soldiers who are or may 
hereafter bo enlisted during the war be annually furnished with one 
regimental coat, full made; one cloth vest; one pair of cloth breeches; 
one pair of woolen overalls; two pair of woolen hose; two pair of 
woolen socks; one felt hat or leather cap; four shirts; two pair of 
linen overalls; four pair of strong shoes; one blanket; one rifle shirt, 
and one pair of woolen gloves; also, one pair of shoe buckles and one 
stock clasp every two years. 

The dragoons to receive two pair of boots and one pair of spurs, 
instead of the shoes and buckles, annually; also a horseman's cloak 
every two years. 

That the Commander in Chief and the commanding general in a 
separate department, respectively, be, and hereby are, authorized to 
direct what clothing shall, from time to time, be dealt out to the artifi- 
cers and wagoners, having regard to the nature of their service and 
the terms of their contract, and time for which the}^ are engaged. 

That summer clothing be ready to be issued on the 15th day of April 
annually, and the winter clothing on the first day of November follow- 
ing, and be delivered at such time as the Commander in Chief or com- 
manding general in a separate department shall direct. 

That the clothier-general deal out the clothing regimentally, and 
keep regular accounts against the respective regimental clothiers, 
taking particular care to have the clothing equally and impartially 
distributed when it is found incompetent for the whole Army. 

That previous to the day of general issue the regimental clothiers 
settle their accounts with the clothier-general, and receive his certifi- 
cates of the arrearages of clothing due to their respective regiments, 
and present him with a return of the number of men for whom cloth- 
ing is to be drawn on the day of general issue; the said return to be 
examined and certified by the officer commanding their respective 
regiments, and signed by the brigadier or officer commanding the 
brigade. 

That all extra issues to detachments, or for accidental loss of cloth- 
ing, be by certificate of the commanding officer of the regiment or 
detachment to which the noncommissioned officers or soldiers in whose 
behalf such application is made shall belong; the said certificate being 
approved and signed by the Commander in Chief or commanding gen- 
eral of a separate army. 

That all issues of clothing be made from the magazines or places of 
general issue with the Army; and, to avoid the necessit}^ of detached 
issues, the officers commanding parties or detachments are to be 
answerable that they are supplied, so far as may be, from the maga- 
zines or stores at camp previous to their leaving the army to which 
they })elong. 

That no articles of clothing be issued by the clothier-general, his 
doputies or assistants, but by return and certificates made and approved 
as aforesaid. 

That no noncommissioned officer or soldier who is not engaged dur- 
ing the war, or for the term at least of one year, be furnished with 
any article of clothing. 

That the clothier-sreneral from time to time notifv the Pavmaster- 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 321 

General of all surplusages of clothing-, specifying- the corps to which 
they belong, that stoppages be made therefor. 

That he make return to the board of war of all clothing on hand, 
and persons employed in the department, with the wages given to each, 
regularly, once in every two months. 

That the Quartermaster-General and his deputies in the several States 
shall, on the requisitions of the clothier-general, furnish the means of 
transportation of all articles of clothing from the places where imported, 
received, or purchased to the places of deposit; and a careful wagon 
master or conductor to be appointed by the Quartermaster- General 
or some of his deputies, shall proceed with the clothing, who shall be 
answerable for all deficiencies on the road, unless they shall be able to 
show that the same happened by unavoidable accidents and not through 
their misconduct or want of attention. 

That in case of injuries or deficiencies happening in the transporta- 
tion of clothing the clothier stationed at the magazine or place of 
deposit shall represent the matter to the nearest conmianding officer 
of the troops of the United States, that the wagon master or conductor 
having- hacl charge of the clothing so damaged or deficient may be 
tried by a court-martial, and, if found guilty, compelled to restore the 
goods lost, or their value, or make satisfaction for damages accrued 
through his negligence or mismanagement, or be punished according 
to the nature of the offence by judgment of the court-martial. 

That the clothier-general have the management, direction, and super- 
intendence of hides, subject to the orders of the board of war, with full 
l)ower to call for proper returns from such persons as have heretofore 
had the management of hides. 

That all commissaries make monthly returns to the clothier-general 
of the hides on hand, and that the Commissary-General make monthly 
returns to him of all the live cattle delivered over to the commissaries 
of the Army. 

That the Quartermaster-General or his deput}^, on the application of 
the clothier-general, or either of his deputies, furnish wagons for 
transporting raw or manufactured hides to such places as they shall 
direct. 

That the clothier-general, with the concurrence of the superintendent 
of finance, be authorized to appoint such number of persons to transact 
the business of the clothing department, during the pi^esent campaign, 
as they may, from time to time, find necessar}^, and /to ascertain their 
wages. 

That the clothier-general make monthly returns to the Commander 
in Chief. / 

That all resolutions heretofore passed respecting the clothing and 
hide departments inconsistent with this arrangement and the resolutions 
now passed be, and they are hereby, repealed. 

June 28, 1781. — "The commissary-general of issues will take effectual measures to 
procureasupplyof hard bread fortheArmy." {Orders, General Headquarters, PeekskiU. ) 

July 10, 1781.' 

Resoh^ed, That the superintendent of- finance be, and he is hereby, 
authorized, either by himself or such person or persons as he shall, 

' Under tills resolution the commissariat system of subsisting the Army was dis- 
continued and the method of contracts for rations adopted iu its stead. 

S. Doc. 229 21 



322 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENEKAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

from time to time, appoint for the purpose, to procure on contract all 
nccessar}' supplies for the use of the Arm}' or armies of the United 
States, . . . and also the transportation thereof; . . . 

Jiihi 15, 1781. — "As it has been represented to the Commander in Chief that the 
quantity of fresh meat lately ordered to be drawn 1)y the troops will not keep during 
this hot season, he desires the Commissary-General may cause two days' allowance 
of salt beef to be issued to every regiment, which is to be put into the care of the 
regimental quartermaster, not to be delivered to the troops but by special order of 
the commanding officers of brigades, and that the troops be served daily with fresh 
beef." {Orders, General Headquarters, near DohUs Ferry.) 

Sejytetuher ,^., 1781. 

Hesolved., That all the clothing- . . . shipped in pursuance of the 
order of the Honorable John Laurens, special minister to the Court 
of Versailles, for the use of the United States, be, upon its arriv^al, 
delivered to the order of the board of war, who are hereby empow- 
ered and directed to take charge and direction of the same. 

September 25, 1781. — "The several issuing commissaries will be particularly careful 
in preserving all the sheepskins for the use of the artillery. They will Ije delivered 
on application to Mr. Thomas Jones, deputy field commissary of military stores." 
( Orders, General Headquarters, WilUamshurgh. ) 

October 2, 1781. — "Salt provision is not to be issued without a general order but in 
cases of necessity." (Orders, General Headquarters, before York.) 

October 23, 1781. — "The biscuit taken from the enemy is not to be issued without 
a general order." {Orders, General Headquarters, near York.) 

October SO, 1781. — "The troops and British prisoners, except those in the hospital, 
to draw five days' allowance of corn beef. The commissary to issue with the beef 
half the quantity of salt allowed to fresh beef." {Orders, General Headquarters, 
near York. ) 

January 1, 1782. — " Contracts having been made for supplying troops of the United 
States at various posts with provisions, the officers are in the future not to draw any 
rations on public account, but will be paid in money at the close of each month the 
amount the several rations respectively allowed them by Congress, but for their greater 
convenience it is agreed that the contractors shall supply them with the whole or 
so many of the rations allowed as they may think proper to draw for, and the Pay- 
master-General or his deputy will at the close of every month settle with the con- 
tractors, and after paying them for such articles as the officers have drawn, pay each 
officer or the paymaster of his regiment the balance due him." {Orders, General 
Headquarters, Philadelphia. ) 

Januart/ 10, 1782. 

Resolved, . . . The Inspector-General, or inspector of a sepa- 
rate army, shall he authorized to call on the . . . clothier-gen- 
eral, ... or their deputies, for returns of the articles which have 
been issued from and returned to their several departments b}^ each 
corps, . . . 

Fehruary 11, 1782. 

Resolved, That the cloth ier-genoral be, and he is hereby, directed to 
agree for and purchase of the State of Massachusetts all such clothing 
as may have been, or shall be, provided by that State, before the open- 
ing of the ensuing campaign; and that he take charge of the said 
clothing, and that the amount thereof be passed b}^ the United States 
to the credit of the said State on the requisitions previous to the 30th 
day of October, 1781. 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPAETMENT. 323 

April 10, 17S3. 

Resolved^ . . . That the clothier-general receive his instructions 
from the War Office, and that the distribution of clothing- for the Army- 
be made under the Secretary at War's directions. 

April ^^2, 1782. 

Resolved, That from and after the first day of May next all resolves 
of Congress heretofore passed relative to rations, subsistence, or allow- 
ances to officers over and above their pay and what they are entitled 
to from the Quartermaster's Department, . . . be, and they are 
hereby, repealed; that from and after the first day of JMay next each 
officer shall be entitled to draw daily the number of rations . . . 
affixed to their several ranks, viz: 

* * * 

Deputy clothier with the Army, 1 ration per day; ZH dollars per 
month. 

Ajrril 23, 1782. 

Resolved, . . . That the supcrnumerar}^ junior lieutenants, 
])e3^ond the number of ten in each regiment of infantry, bo reduced; 
. . . except such of them as shall accept of appointments in the 
staff departments, with the approbation of the heads of the respective 
departments, in which case they shall severally retain their respective 
ranks in the Army, and be entitled to the full pay and subsistence 
belonging to their rank in the line, as a compensation for their 
respective services in the staff, without any other allowance whatso- 
ever; . . . 

May 7, 1782. 

Resolved, That the superintendent of finance l)e, and hereby is, 
authorized to appoint an inspector for the main and southern army, 
to take care that the contracts for suppl>'ing rations be duly executed 
by the contractors; that the said inspectors shall also be, and they are 
hereb}^ fully empowered and directed to attend to the expenditures 
of public property in the several departments of the Army, and report 
any fraud, neglect of duty, or other misconduct by which the public 
property is wasted, or expense unnecessarily accumulated, so that the 
l)arty charged therew ith may bo tried by court-martial on such charges 
exhibited against him })y either of the said inspectors; and that neither 
the said inspectors nor the said contractors, or their property, be 
lial)le to arrest or subject to martial law, except by the express order 
of the Commander in Chief, or commander of the army to which the 
inspectors respectively shall be appointed, any resolution or act of 
Congress heretofore made notwithstanding; 

That the pay to each inspector be lG6f dollars per month, in full of 
all allowances; 

That each inspector, when appointed, shall take an oath for the faith- 
ful and im])artial execution of the trust r(^])osed in him as inspector of 
the contracts of the Army. 



324 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

June n, 1782. 

ResoVded^ That the Secretaiy at War institute an immediate enquiry 
into the reasons which have delayed the arrival of clothing and other 
necessaries which have already been provided and sent on to the south 
ern army; and that he take every step in his power to discover the 
causes of dela}^ embezzlement, and other circumstances which have 
so frequently arrested the supplies of the southern army, and report 
thereon to Congress. 

Ordered^ That the superintendent of finance report to Congress the 
causes which have prevented the southern army being supplied by 
contracts. 

Angnst <§, IIS'B. 

Resolved, . . . That the Secretary at War and superintendent 
of tinance take order that proper magazines be laid up in the said fort 
[Fort Pitt], which may enable the commanding ofHcer, in case the said 
fort should be invested by the enem}^ to render it tenable until 
relieved. 

October 9, 1782. — "The honorable the superintendent of finance [has] by the fol- 
lowing commission {^omittedl appointed Ezekiel Cornell, esq., inspector for the main 
army for the purpose therein mentioned" [to take care that the contracts for sup- 
plying rations be truly executed]. {Orders, (n'veral Headrjimrters, Verplank^s Point.) 

October 15, 1182. — "The Commander in Chief directs the Army to be informed 
that, in consequence of instructions from the sujierintendent of tinance, the Honor- 
able Mr. Cornell hath entered into a contract with Messrs. Wadsworth & Carter to 
supply the main army, the garrison at West Point, and its dependencies with rations 
of provisions from the 16th insta,nt until the last day of December next, inclusive. 
All applications for provisions are therefore to be made to them or their agents; and 
no receipts or vouchers for the delivery of provisions are to be given except to them 
or persons issuing under their authority. The aforesaid contractors, Wadsworth & 
Carter, are to have the use of all commissary's storehouses, scales, and weights 
belonging to the public in the department, they taking care that the property of the 
former contractors be as little injured thereby as possible." {Orders, General Head- 
quarters, Verplank's Point.) 

Octohr 39, 1'7S<2. 

Resolved, That the Quartermaster-General ])o allowed 15 rations per 
day; 

That the deputy quartermaster M'ith the southern ai-iuy be allowed 
12 rations per day; 

That all assistants in the Quartermaster's Department be allowed, 
each of them, two rations per day; 

That the wagon master, commissary of forage for the main army, 
and commissary of forage for the southern arnu' be each allowed five 
rations per day; 

That the deputy wagon master with the southern army be allowed 
four rations per day; 

That the wagon conductors be each of them allowed a ration and a 
half per day; 

That the directors of the artificers be allowed, each of them, three 
rations per day, and the subdirectors, each of them, two rations per 
day; 

And that the foregoing rations shall be inclusive of what the several 
officers aforesaid may be entitled to draw in the line of the Army. 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPAETMENT. 



325 



N'ovemher 12, 17S2. 

Resolved, That the geographer to the main army and the geographer 
to the southern department be each of them allowed . . . three 
rations per day, . . . [and] a servant, for whom they shall be enti- 
tled to draw one ration per day and the clothing allowed for a private 
soldier; 

That the assistant geographers ... be allowed . . . one 
ration per day, . . . 

November £6, 17 S2. — " The Commander in Chief has the pleasure of announcinu; 
that a delivery of two shirts per man will shortly ))e made to the whole Army." 
( Orders, General Headqaarters, Neivlmrgh. ) 

December 2, 1782. — "Tlie abstracts of the subsistence of the Army, up to the time 
the contractor settled with the officers (whose certificate is then to be taken), are to 
be sent to the deputy paymaster at the Forge, near Murderer's Creek, as soon as 
possible." {Orders, General Headquarters, Newburgli.) 

December 23, 1782. — "The difficulty of transportation having delayed a considerable 
proportion of the shirts, which are ready-made in Philadelphia and which may now 
soon be expected, those which have arrived are to be drawn for by lot." — {Orders, 
General Headquarters, Newhurgh. ) 

December 28, 1782. — "Allowance of subsistence money to be supplied the officers 
in lieu of rations for themselves and servants, without arms, according to an act of 
Congress of the 3d December, 1782." 



Different grades and officers. 



Daily 
number 
of ra- 
tions. 



Number 
of serv- 
ants 
without 
arms. 



Monthly 
allow- 
ance in 
lieu of 
rations. 



Major-general 

Brigadier 

Lt. colonel 

Majors, brigade majors, and a. d. c., not of the line 

Captains 

Subaltern 

Surgeon's mate 

Quartermaster-General 

Deputy q. m. genl. with the main army 

Deputy q. m. genl. with the southern army 

AssistMii t iinartermasters 

A(ljutinit-(;fiuTrtl 

Assistants to the Adjt. Genl 

Deimt y adjutant-general 

Commissary of prisons 

Diputy iMimsy. j)risons, southern army 

Intendrnts of prisoners ". 

,Iudt,'c-aii vocates 

Deputy judge-advocate, southern army 

Wag( III master 

Deputy wagon master, southern army 

Deputy paymaster, main army 

Deputy ]iaymasti'r, southern army 

Field commissary military stores 

Deputy tield commissary military stores, southern army 

Conductors and clerks ." 

Directors of artificers 

Deputy clotliier with the Army 

Deputy jiost master with the Xrmy 

Geograplurs to the main and southern armies, each 

Assistant Kcof^rnphers 

('(jmniissary of forage 

Dciiuiy commissary of forage, southern army 

Deputy ticld commissary military stores, West Point 



S76 
64 
•21 
20 
12 

8 

8 
76 
32 
04 

8 
64 
20 
32 
28 
28 
16 
28 
28 
24 
20 
16 
28 
12 
12 

6 
12 

8 

4 
16 

4 
24 
20 

8 



(Orders, General Headquarters, Neivburgh.) 

January 3, 1783. — Duplicate accounts of the subsistence of departments and gen- 
eral officers' family, to be signed by the heads of the departments and general 
officers." {Orders, General Headquarters, Xewburgli.) 

February 25, 1783. — "The contractors for the Army having desired that, agreeably to 
contract, a person might be appointed to inspect the cattle destined for the Army, 



326 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Henry Wykoff, esq., of Fishkill, is appointed for that purpose until the pleasure of 
the superintendent of finance shall be known." {Orden^, G'eneral Headquarters, 
Newhurgh. ) 

March 19, 178S. — "The contractors are requested to have an ample supply of vine- 
gar, that the issue of that article may be regular as soon as the warm weather com- 
mences." {Orders, General Headquarters, Newhurgh.) 

March 84, 1783. — "It is recommended to the troops to make regimental gardens for 
the purpose of raising greens and vegetables for their own use, and, in order to collect 
a sufticient quantity of seeds, commanding officers of regiments will give passes to as 
many trusty soldiers as they may judge necessary to go into the country and be 
absent not exceeding ten days. The General hopes he shall see a suitable attention 
bestowed on an article which will contribute so much to the comfort and health of 
the troops. He even flatters himself it will become a matter of amusement and of 
emulation. The Quartermaster-General is also desired to advertise in the newspapers, 
giving proper invitation and encouragement to those who may be disposed to sender 
bring in garden seeds of all kinds to his office, which will be equitably divided and 
faithfully a>pplied to the soldiery." {Orders, General Headquarters, Newhurgh.) 

April 1;?, 1783. — "Application is to be made to the assistant clothier-general for 
another distribution of shirts; also, returns to be given in to him of the men who have 
not received hats for the last year." {Orders, General Headquarters, Newhurgh.) 

Ajrril 17, 17S3. 

Resolved, That immediate measures be taken for the sale of . . . 
all such articles in the several military departments as may not be nec- 
essary for tlie use of the Army, previous to its reduction, or for the 
formation of magazines on a peace establishment. 

January '21^, 178^. 

Resolved, That the principals in the several departments of . . . 
clothier, . . . be, and they are hereby, ordered to transmit, as 
soon as may be, to the War Office, to be laid before Congress, exact 
returns of all the stores in their respective departments, specifying 
the quantity and quality of each article, where deposited, in whose care, 
and in what manner secured. 

February 23, 1785. 

Resolved, That the . . . commissary of purchases, commissary 
of issues, ... be required, without delay, to forward to the 
board of treasury or to the Comptroller a list of their respective dep- 
uties who have been Ci\x\y authorized to issue certilicates. 

Septemher 6, 1785. 

Ordered, That the Secretary at War, as soon as may be, cause to be 
made and transmitted to Congress an exact return of all . . . 
wagons, tents . . . and public stores, or property of every descrip- 
tion, the custod}' of which is charged on the Department of War, 
distinguishing the quantity or number, quality, and kind of each, and 
the several places of their deposits; and that he transmit a like return 
on the lirst Monday in January and the first Monday in July annually. 

Octoher «?, 1788. 

The committee, consisting of Mr. Howard, Mr. Few, Mr. Dayton, 
Mr. Oilman, and Mr. Carrington, appointed to make full inquiry into 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 327 

the proceedings in the Department of War, beg leave to report and to 
present to the view of Congress a summary statement of the various 
branches of the Department of War. 



2d. — OF THE CLOTHING FOR THE TROOPS. 

The .roops enlisted in 1785 have already received two complete suits, 
and most of them have one year's clothing, complete, due to them. 

Provision was made for the 3d year's clothing, but the Secretary at 
War has been constrained to apply it for the recruits; otherwise they 
could not have been enlisted, good clothing being the greatest induce- 
ment for a recruit to enlist into the service. 

The board of treasury have advertised for a contract for clothing, 
and hope to succeed, in which case the old soldiers who have reen- 
listed will receive their third suit in October next. Those of this 
description who will be discharged will probably prefer a compensa- 
tion in money to the clothing. 

The troops on the frontiers enlisted in 1786 have also received two 
suits of clothing, and will, if the board of treasury succeed in their 
contract, duly receive their third suit. 

The two companies of artillery raised in Massachusetts have received 
only one 3^ear's clothing; they will probably receive their second suit 
in the ensuing October. 



GtH. — OF THE MODE IN WHICH THE TROOrS ARE FURNISHED AVITH 

PROVISIONS. 

In the year 1785 Mr. James O'Hara made a contract w4th the board 
of treasury for furnishing the several posts on the frontiers with 
rations, which were to consist of — 

One pound of beef or three-quarters of a pound of pork. 

One pound of bread or flour. 

One gill of common rum. 

One quart of salt, 1 

Two quarts of vinegar, \ _e -<aa +• 

rp ^ 1 £ '^ ' r tor everv 100 rations. 

iwo pounds of soap, 

One pound of candles, J 

The prices of which at the several posts where the troops were 
actually stationed were as follows: 

At Fort Pitt, j 

M'Intosh, >• 13i ninetieths of a dollar. 
Harmar, ) 

The contract was performed tolerably well; some complaints were 
made respecting particular posts, but the defects were, perhaps, insepa- 
ral)ly connected with the state of the frontiers and of public ati'airs. 

In 1786 a contract was formed by the board of treasury for the same 
objects with Messrs. Turnbull, Marmie & Co., the articles of the ration 
to consist of the same as the preceding, and the prices thereof. 

At Fort Pitt, lOi ninetieths of a dollar. 

M'Intosh, I -,-, 1 1V+ 

TT ' r 11^ ditto. 

Harmar, j 

There were some stipulations for payment l)y Avarrants on the State 



328 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

of Pennsylvania, which were paid in the paper currency by the said 
State when greatly depreciated. This contract was ill executed, and 
the mode of payment was assigned by the contractors as the reason. 

1787, a contract was formed by the board of treasury with Mr. 
James O'Hara at the prices herein stated: 

Fort Pitt, 9i ninetieths of a dollar. 

IVrintosh, lOi ditto. 

Harmar, Hi ditto. 

Rapids of the Ohio, 13i ninetieths of a dollar. 
Venango, 14 ditto. 

This contract was better executed than any of the f oi-mer. The pay- 
ments were generally made in warrants on New Jersey, Pennsylvania, 
and Maryland. 

A new contract has been formed, to take effect from the 1st of July 
of the present year to the end of the year 1789. by Messrs. Elliot and 
Williams, of Maryland, at the following prices: 

The terms of payment, by warrants on Maryland. 

Fort Pitt, 7 ninetieths of a dollar. 

M'Intosh, the same. 

Harmar, the same. 

Rapids of the Ohio, 7i ninetieths of a dollar. 
Post Vincennes, 16 ditto. 

Venango, 9 ditto. 

STATUTES AT LARGE. 

Act of April 30, 1790 {1 Stats., 119). 

AN ACT for regulating tlie military establishment of the United States. 
* * * 

Sec. 9. That every noncommissioned officer, private, and musician 
aforesaid shall receive annually the following articles of uniform 
clothing: One hat or helmet, one coat, one vest, two pair of woolen 
and two pair of liiien overalls, four pair of shoes, four shirts, two pair 
of socks, one blanket, one stock and clasp, and one pair of buckles. 

Sec. 10. That every noncommissioned officer, private, and musician 
aforesaid shall receive daily the following rations of provisions, or the 
value thereof: One pound of beef or three-quarters of a pound of pork, 
one pound of bread or flour, half a gill of rum, brandy, or whiskey, or 
the value thereof at the contract price when the same shall become 
due, and at the rate of one quart of salt, two quarts of vinegar, two 
pounds of soap, and one pound of candles to every hundred rations. 



Act of May 8, 1792 {1 Stats., 279). 

AN ACT making alterations in the Treasury and War Departments. 
* * . * 

Sec. 5. That all purchases and contracts for supplying the Army 
with provisions, clothing, . . . and all other supplies or articles 
for the use of the Department of War be made by or under the direc- 
tion of the Treasury Department. 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 329 

Act of June 7, 170^ {1 Stats., 390). 

AN ACT in addition to the "Act for making further and more effectual i:)rovi8ion 
for the protection of the frontiers of the United States." 

* * * 

Sec. 3. That to such of the troops as are or ma}' be cmplo\^ed on 
the frontiers, and under such special circumstances as in the opinion 
of the President of the United States may require an augmentation of 
some parts of their rations, the President be authorized to direct such 
augmentation as he may judge necessary, not exceeding four ounces of 
beef, two ounces of flour, and half a gill of rum or whiskey in addition 
to each ration, and half a pint of salt to one hundred rations. 

Act of January 3, 17 95 {1 Stats., pS). 

AN ACT to regulate the pay of the noncommissioned officers, musicianp, and pri- 
vates of the militia of the United States, when called into actual service, and for 
other purposes. 

* * -X- 

Sec. 6. That to those in the military service of the United States, 
who are, or shall be employed on the western frontiers, there shall be 
allowed, during the time of their being so employed, two ounces of 
flour or bread, and two ounces of beef or pork, in addition to each of 
their rations, and half a pint of salt, in addition to every hundred of 
their rations. 

Act of Fefyniary £5, 1795 {1 Stats., U9). 

AN ACT to establish the office of Purveyor of Public Supplies.' 

Sec. 1. That there shall ho, in the Department of the Treasury an 
officer to be denominated "Purveyor of Pu])lic Supplies," whose duty 
it shall be, under the direction and supervision of the Secretary of the 
Treasury, to conduct the procuring and providing of all . . 
provisions, clothing, . . . and generally all articles of supply 
requisite for the service of the United States. . . . 



Act of March 3, 1795 {1 Stats., 4.30). 

AN ACT for continuing and regulating the military establishment of the United 
States, and for repealing sundry acts heretofore passed on that subject. 

* * * 

Sec. 7. That every noncommissioned officer, private, or musician of 
the artillery and infantry shall receive, annually, the following arti- 
cles of uniform clothing, to wit: One hat or helmet, one coat, one vest, 
two pair of woolen and two pair of linen overalls, four pair of shoes, 
four shirts, two pair of socks, one blanket, one stock and clasp, and 
one pair of buckles. And that there be furnished to the cavalry and 
riflemen such clothing as shall be most suitable and best adapted to the 
nature of the service, having regard therein, as nearly as may be, to 
the value of the clothing allowed as above, to the infantry and artillery. 

Sec. 8. That every noncommissioned officer, private, and musician 
shall receive daily the following rations of provisions, to wit: One 

1 Abolished, after ]\Iay :?1, 1812, by the act of March 28, 1812. 



330 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

pound of beef or three-quarters of a pound of pork, one pound of 
bread or flour, half a gill of rum, brandy, or whiskey, and at the rate 
of one quart of salt, two quarts of vinegar, two pounds of soap, and 
one pound of candles to every hundred rations, or the value thereof, 
at the contract price, when the same shall become due; and if at such 
posts supplies are not furnished by contract, then such allowance as 
shall be deemed equitable, having reference to former contracts and 
the position of the place in question. 

Sec. 9. That to those in the military service of the United States. 
who are or shall be employed on the western frontiers there shall be 
allowed during the time of their being so employed two ounces of 
flour or bread and two ounces of beef or pork in addition to each 
of their rations, and half a pint of salt in addition to every hundred of 
their rations. 



Act of May 30, 179G {1 Stats., 483). 

AN ACT to ascertain and fix the military estaljlishment of the United States. 
* * * 

Sec. 8. That every noncommissioned officer, private, or musician of 
the artillery and infantry shall receive annually the following articles 
of uniform clothing, to wit: One hat, one coat, one vest, two pair of 
woolen and two pair of linen overalls, four pair of shoes, four shirts, 
four pair of socks, one blanket, one stock and clasp, and one pair of 
buckles. 

Sec. 9. That suitable clothing be provided for the dragoons, adapted 
to the nature of the service, and conformed as near as may be to the 
value of the clothing allowed to the infantry and artillery. 

Sec. 10. That every noncommissioned officer, private, and musician 
shall receive daily the following rations of provisions, to wit: One 
pound of beef or three-quarters of a pound of pork, one pound of 
bread or flour, half a gill of rum, brandy, or whiskey; and at the rate 
of one quart of salt, two quarts of vinegar, two pounds of soap, and 
one pound of candles to every hundred rations. 

Sec. 11.^ That to those in the military service of the United States 
who are or shall be employed on the western frontiers there shall be 
allowed, during the time of their being so emplo3'ed, two ounces 
of flour or bread and two ounces of beef or pork in addition to each of 
the rations, and half a pint of salt in addition to every hundred of 
their rations. 



Act of July 16, 1798 (1 Stats., 604). 

AN ACT to augment the Army of the United States, and for other purposes. 
* * * 

Sec. 6. . . . That everj?- noncommissioned officer, private, and 
musician shall receive daily the following rations of provisions, to 
wdt: One pound and a quarter of beef or three-quarters of a pound of 
pork, eighteen ounces of bread or flour, a gill of rum, brandy, or 

1 Repealed by the act of March 3, 1797 (1 Stats., 507). 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 331 

whiskey; and at the rate of two quarts of salt, four quarts of vinegar, 
four pounds of soap, and one pound and a-half of candles to every 
hundred rations. 



Act of July 16, 17 9S {1 Stats., 610). 

AN ACT to alter and amend the several acts for the establishment and re,u;nlation 
of the Treasury, War, and Navy Departments. 

* * x- 

Sec. 3. That all purchases and contracts for supplies or services for 
the military . . . service of the United States shall be made by 
or under the direction of the chief officers of the departments of War 
. . . and all agents or contractors for supplies or services as afore- 
said shall render their accounts for settlement to the accountants of 
the proper department for which such supplies or services are required, 
subject, nevertheless, to the inspection and revision of the officers of 
the Treasury in manner before prescri])ed. 

Sec. 4. That it shall be the duty of the purvej^or of public supplies 
to execute all such orders as he may from time to time receive from 
the Secretary of Wai- . . . relative to the procuring- and provid- 
ing of all kinds of stores and supplies, and shall render his accounts 
relative thereto to the accountants of the proper departments, which 
accounts shall be subject to the inspection and revision of the officers 
of the Treasury as aforesaid. 

Sec. 5. That the provisions of the act passed on the eighth day of 
May, one thousand seven hundred and ninety -two, intituled "An act 
making alterations in the Treasury and War Departments," and the 
act passed on the twenty-third day of Februar}^ one thousand seven 
hundred and ninetj^-iive, intituled ''"An act to establish the office of 
purveyor of public supplies," so far as the same are repugnant to the 
provisions of this act, be, and the same are hereby, repealed. 

Sec. 6. That all contracts to be made b}^ virtue of this act, or of any 
law of the United States, and requiring the advance of money, or to be 
in any manner connected with the settlement of public accounts, shall 
be deposited in the office of the Comptroller of the Treasury of the 
United States within ninety da3^s after their dates, respectively. 

Act of March 3, 1799 {1 Stats, 74.9). 

AN ACT for the better organizing of the troops of the United States, and for other 

purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 19. That a ration of provisions shall henceforth consist of 
eighteen ounces of bread or flour, or when neither can be obtained, of 
one quart of rice or one and a half pound of sifted or bolted Indian 
meal, one pound and a quarter of fresh beef or one pound of salted 
beef, or three-quarters of a pound of salted pork, and when fresh 
meat is issued, salt at the rate of two quarts for every hundred rations, 
soap at the rate of four pounds, and candles at the rate of a pound 
and a half for every hundred rations : Provided, always. That there 
shall be no diminution of the ration to which any of the troops now in 
service may be entitled by the terms of their enlistment. 

Sec. 20. That every noncommissioned officer, private, artificer, and 



332 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

musician of the artillery and infantry shall receive annually the fol- 
lowing articles of uniform clothing, to wit: One hat, one coat, one vest, 
two pair of woolen and two pair of linen overalls, four pair of shoes, 
four shirts, four pair of socks, one blanket, one stock and clasp, and one 
pair of buckles. 

Sec. 21. That suitable clothing be provided for the dragoons, adapted 
to the nature of the service and conformed as near as may be to the value 
of the clothing allowed to the infantry and artillery. 

Sec. 22. . . . that whenever supplies thereof shall be on hand 
there shall be issued to the troops vinegar at the rate of two quarts for 
every hundred rations. 

* * * 

Sec. 24. That it shall be lawful for the Secretary of War to cause 
to be provided, in each and every year, all clothing . . . neces- 
sary for the troops and armies of the United States for the succeeding 
year, and for this purpose to make purchases, and enter, or cause to 
be entered into, all necessary contracts or obligations for effecting the 
same. 



Act of March 16, 1802 (2 Stats., 132). 
AN ACT fixing tlie military peace et^tahlishment of the United States. 

-X- -X- * 

Sec. 3. That there shall be . . . three military agents and such 
number of assistant military agents^ as the President of the United 
States shall deem expedient, not exceeding one to each military post, 
which assistants shall be taken from the line. . 

Sec. 4. That the monthly pay of the officer ... be as follows, 
to wit: ... to each assistant military agent, eight dollars, in 
addition to his pay in the line, except the assistant military agents at 
Pittsburg and Niagara, who shall receive sixteen dollars each, in addi- 
tion to their pay in the line. . . . 

Sec. 5. That the commissioned officers aforesaid shall Ije entitled 
to receive, for their daily subsistence, the following number of rations 
of provisions: A colonel, six rations; a lieutenant-colonel, live rations; 
a major, four rations; a captain, three rations; a lieutenant, two rations; 
an ensign, two rations; a surgeon, three rations; a surgeon's mate, two 
rations; a cadet, two rations, or money in lieu thereof at the option of 
said officers and cadets at the posts respectively, when the rations shall 
become due; and if at such post supplies are not furnished by contract, 
then such allowance as shall be deemed equitable, having reference to 
former contracts and the position of the place in question; and each 
noncommissioned officer, musician, and private, one ration; to the com- 
manding officers of each separate post, such additional number of 
rations as the President of the United States shall from time to time 
direct, having respect to the special circumstances of each post; to 
the women who may be allowed to an}^ particular corps, not exceeding 
the proportion of four to a company, one ration each; to such matrons 
and nurses as may be necessarily employed in the hospital, one ration 

^ It is assumed that the assistant military agents at posts performed duty in both 
the Subsistence and the Quartermaster's Departments. This section assigns to pay- 
masters charge of the clothing of the troops. 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 333 

each; and to every noncommissioned officer who shall keep one servant, 
not a soldier of the line, one additional ration. 

Sec. 6. That each ration shall consist of one pound and a quarter of 
beef or three quarters of a pound of pork, eighteen ounces of bread 
or flour, one gill of rum, whiskey, or brandy, and at the rate of two 
quarts of salt, four qviarts of vinegar, four pounds of soap, and one 
pound and a half of candles to every hundred rations. 

* * * 

Sec. 8. That every noncommissioned officer, musician, and private 
of the artillery and infantry shall receive annually the following articles 
of uniform clothing, to wit: One hat, one coat, one vest, two pair of 
woolen and two pair of linen overalls, one coarse linen frock and trousers 
for fatigue clothing, four pair of shoes, four shirts, two pair of socks, 
two pair of short stockings, one blanket, one stock and clasp, and one 
pair of half gaithers; and the Secretary of War is hereby authorized 
to cause to be furnished to the paymasters of the respective districts 
such surplus of clothing as he may deem expedient, which clothing shall, 
under his direction, be furnished to the soldiers, when necessarj^, at 
the contract prices, and accounted for by them out of their arrears of 

monthly pay. 

* * * 

Act of March, m, ISOJ^ (^ Stats., 290). 

AN ACT ill addition to "An Act for fixing tlie military establiwluneiit of the United 

States." 



Sec. 2. That an equivalent in malt liquor or low wines ma}'' be sup- 
plied the troops of the United States instead of the rum, whiskey, or 
brandy which by the said act is made a component part of the ration 
at such posts and garrisons, and at such seasons of the year as in the 
opinion of the President of the United States may be necessary to the 
preservation of their health. 

Act of April m, 1808 {2 Stats., 481). 

aN act to raise for a limited time an additional military force. 
* * * 

Sec. 6. That the subsistence of the officers of the Army, when not 
received in kind, shall be estimated at twenty cents per ration. 



Act of January 11, 1813 (2 Stats., 671). 

j\JN ACT to raise an additional military force. 
* * * 

Sec. 8. That each ration shall consist of one pound and a quarter of 
beef, or three-(|uarters of a pound of pork, eighteen ounces of bread 
or flour, one gill of rum, whiskey, or brandy, and at the rate of two 
quarts of salt, four quarts of vinegar, four pounds of soap, and one 
pound and a half of candles to every hundred rations. 



334 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF \j. S. ARMY. 

Sec. 0. That ev^ery noncommissioned officer, musician, and private 
of the artillery and infantry shall receive annually the following' arti- 
cles of uniform clothing, to wit: One hat, one coat, one vest, two pair 
of woolen and two pair of linen overalls, one coarse linen frock and 
trousers for fatigue clothing, four pair of shoes, four shirts, two pair 
of socks, two pair of short stockings, one blanket, one stock and clasp, 
and one pair of half gaithers. And the Secretary of War is hereby 
authorized to cause to be furnished to the paymasters of the respective 
districts such surplus of clothing as he may deem expedient. 



Act of March 17, 18P2 {2 Stats., 695). 
AN ACT supplementary to "An Act to raise an additional military force." 

That the noncommissioned officers, musicians, and privates of the 
light dragoons shall receive the same uniform clothing as is now pro- 
vided by law for the artillery and infantry, excepting one pair of 
gaithers and four pair of shoes, in lieu of which each person shall be 
annually entitled to receive one pair of boots and two pair of shoes. 

Sec. 2. That the noncommissioned officers, musicians, and privates 
of the regiment of light artillery shall receive the same clothing as the 
light dragoons when ordered to be mounted. 



Marches, 1812 {2 Stafs., 096). 
AN ACT to establish a (Quartermaster's Dejiartment, and for other purposes. 



Sec. 4. That there shall be a commissary-general of purchases, and 
as many deputy commissaries as in the opinion of the President of the 
United States the public service may require, to be appointed bj^ the 
President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. 

Sec. 6. That it shall be the duty of the commissary -general of pur- 
chases, under the direction and supervision of the Secretary of War, 
to conduct the procuring and providing of all arms, military stores, 
clothing, and generally all articles of supply requisite for the military 
service of the United States; and it shall ])e the duty of the deputy 
conmiissaries, when directed thereto either l)y the Secretary of W^ar, 
the conuuissary-general of purchases, or, in cases of necessity, by the 
commanding general, Quartermaster-Cjeneral, or deputy quartermas- 
ters, to purchase all such of the aforesaid articles as may be requisite 
for the military service of the United States. 

Sec. 6. That neither . . . the Commissary-General shall, directly 
or indirectly, be concerned or interested in carrying on the business of 
trade or commerce, or bo owner, in whole or in part, of any sea vessel; 
nor shall cither of them purchase, by himself or other in trust for 
him, public lands or any other public property, or be concerned in 
the purchase or disposal of any pviblic securities of any State or of the 
United States, or take or apply to his own use any emolument or gain 
for negotiating or transacting any business in the said department 
other than what shall be allowed by law; and if . . . the 
said . . . Commissary-General shall oil'end against any of the 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPAETMENT. 335 

prohibitions of this act, the parties so offending- shall upon conviction 
forfeit to the United States the penalty of three thousand dollars, and 
may be imprisoned for a term not exceeding five years, and shall be 
removed from office, and be forever thereafter incapable of holding 
any office under the United States. 

Sec, 7. That the salary of the commissary-general of purchases shall 
be three thousand dollars per annum, and the compensation to a deputy 
commissary shall not exceed two and one-half per centum on the 
public moneys disbursed by him, nor in any instance the sum of two 
thousand dollars per annum. 

Sec, 8, That the commissary-general of purchases shall, before he 
enters upon his duties, give bond with sufficient sureity, to be approved 
of In^ the Secretary of War, in the sum of fifty thousand dollars, and 
the deputy commissaries each in the sum of ten thousand dollars, with 
condition for the faithful performance of the duties of their office, 
respectively^, which bonds shall bo lodged with the Comptroller of 
Treasur}^. 

Sec, 9, That from and after the last day of May next so much of the 
act entitled ""An act to establish the office of purveyor of pu])lic sup- 
plies" , , . be, and the same is hereby, repealed, and in the 
meantime the purve3"or shall deliver over to the Commissary-General 
or one of his deputies the public stores and property of all sorts in his 
possession, who shall receipt to him for the same. 

Sec, 10, That all letters and packets to and from the . . . 
Commissary-General shall be free from postage. 

* -x- * 

Sec. 18. That this act shall go into operation on the first day of 
April next. . . . 

Sec. 19. That all persons attached to the public service by virtue of 
this act shall be subject to military law, except the deputy com- 
missaries. 

Sec. 20. That the President may, and herel)y is authorized, in the 
recess of the Senate, to appoint ithe . . . Commissary-General 
and deputy commissaries, or any of them, which appointments shall 
be submitted to the Senate at their next session for their advice and 
consent. 

Act of Mat/ i2^, ISl'^ {)'i Stats. ^ 7Jf2). 

AN ACT to amend an act entitled "An act to establisli a Qnarterinaster'n Depart- 
ment, and for other purposes." 

That neither , . . the Commissary-General nor any or either of 
their deputies or assistant deputies shall be concerned, directly or indi- 
rectly, in the purchase or sale, for commercial purposes, of any article 
intended for making a part of, or appertaining to their respective 
departments, except for and on account of the United States; nor shall 
they, or either of them, take or apply to his or their own use any gain 
or emolument for negotiating or transacting any business in their 
. . . departments, other than what is or may be allowed by law. 

•X- * * 

Sec, 5, That the sixth section of the act hereby amended bo, and the 
same is hereby, repealed. 



336 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 
Act of March 3, 1813 {2 Stat.'^., 816). 

AN ACT the better to provide for the suppUes of the Army of the United States, and 
for the acconntabihty of persons entrusted with the same. 

Sec. 2. The superintendent-general of military supplies^ shall pre- 
scribe the form of all the returns and accounts of such stores and sup- 
plies purchased, on hand, distributed, used, or sold, to be rendered by 
. . . the commissary-general of purchases and his deputies. . . . 

Sec. 3. That the commissary-general of purchases and his deputies 
. . . shall render quarterly accounts of the disposition and state of 
all such stores and supplies to the superintendent aforesaid; and shall 
also make such other returns respecting the same, and at such other 
times, as the Secretary" for the War Department may prescribe: Pro- 
vided., ko^mver., That' the accounts and returns thus rendered shall 
relate to the articles of supply only which may have been received and 
disposed of, or as may remain on hand, and shall not embrace the 
specie accounts for moneys disbursed by such officers, agents, or other 
persons; which specie accounts shall be rendered, as heretofore, to the 
accountant for the War Department. 

Sec. 4. That the officers . . . who may receive money in advance 
from the War Department shall render quarterly accounts to the 
accountant of the said Department of their specie receipts and disburse- 
ments, and shall, moreover, make such other monthly summary state- 
ments thereof to the Secretar}^ of the said Department as he may 
prescribe. And the quarterly accounts of supplies, or of moneys ren- 
dered as aforesaid, shall be respectively settled by the superintendent- 
general of military supplies and by the accountant of the War 
Department, according to their respective authorities, within three 
months after the time when such accounts shall have, respectively, 
been rendered to them. 

Sec. 5. That the Secretary for the War Department shall be, and 
he is hereby, authorized and directed to dehne and prescrilje the species, 
as well as the amount, of supplies to be respectively purchased by the 
Commissary-General's . . . departments, and the respective duties 
and powers of the said departments respecting such purchases. 

■X- * * 

Sec. 8. That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, 
empowered, as he may deem it expedient, either to appoint for the 
time being a special commissary or commissaries for the purpose of 
supplying, by purchase or contract, and of issuing, or to authorize 
any officer or officers in the Quartermaster-General's Department to 
supply and issue, as aforesaid, the whole or any part of the subsistence 
of the Army in all cases where, either from the want of contractors, 
or from any deficiency on their part, or from any other contingenc}^ 
such measure may bo proper and necessary in order to insure the sub- 
sistence of the Army, or any part thereof; and such special conunis- 
saries shall, each, wh ilst employed, 1 )e entitled to the pay and emoluments 
of a deputy quartermaster-general. 

1 The superintendent-general of military supplies, authorized to be appointed under 
this act, was not a staff officer, but a civilian, with a salary of $3,000 ]ier annum. 
His duties were to keep proper accounts of all military stores and sui)plies of every 
description purcliased for the Army, the volunteers, and the militia, and to prescribe 
forms of all the returns and accounts of such stores and supplies, etc 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 337 

Sec. 9. That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, 
authorized to appoint not exceeding six assistant commissaries, to be 
attached to such Army, or to reside at such places, respectively, as the 
Secretary for the War Department may direct, for the purpose of 
receiving from the commissary-general of purchases, or from his depu- 
ties, and of distributing to the regimental quartermasters, and to such 
officers as may ))y the Secretary aforesaid be designated, the clothing 
and other supplies purchased by the Commissary-General aforesaid, or 
his deputies, and destined for the use of the troops belonging to the 
Army, or in the vicinity of the place to which such assistant commis- 
saries may, respectively, be attached. And said assistant commissaries 
shall, whilst employed, be entitled to the pay and emoluments of a 
deputy quartermaster-general. 

Aci of March SO, 181 J^ {3 Stats., 113). 

AN ACT for the better organizing, paying, and supplying the Army of the United 

States. 

* * * 

Sec. 8, That the President of the United States l)c, and ho is hereby, 
authorized to prescribe the (quantity and kind of clothing to be issued 
annuall}' to the troops of the United States. 



Act of Decemher lb, I8IJ4. {3 Stats., 151). 

AN ACT directing the staff officers of the Army to comply with the requisitions of 
naval and marine officers in certain cases. 

That it shall be the dut\^ of the several officers of the staff of the 
Army of the United States to provide the officers, seamen, and marines 
of the Navy of the United States, when acting, or proceeding to act, 
on shore, in cooperation with the land troops, upon the requisition of 
the commanding naval or marine officer of any such detachment of 
seamen or marines, under order to act as aforesaid, with rations: 
. . . Provided, nevertheless. That the contract price of the rations 
which may be furnished shall be reimbursed out of the appropriations 
for the support of the Navy. 



May 17, 181.5. — . . . The acts of Congress establishing . . . the office of 
the commissary -general of purchases, . . . remain in force. . . . {General 
Orders, A. and I. O.'s Office.) 

Act of April U, 1816 (3 Stats., 297). 

AN ACT for organizing the general staff and making further provisions for the Army 

of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 5. That the purchasing department shall consist of one com- 
missary-general of purchases, as heretofore authorized, with the annual 
salary of three thousand dollars, and one deputy commissary to each 
division, with the annual salary of two thousand dollars, and six assist- 
ant commissaries of issues, with the annual salary of one thousand 
three hundred dollars, and as many military storekeepers as the service 

S. Doc. 229 22 



338 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

may require, whose salaries shall be regulated by the Secretary of War, 
according to the duties they may perform: Provided^ That the pay and 
emoluments shall not exceed that of a captain of infantry. 

Sec. 6. That all officers of the . . . commissary 
department shall, previous to their entering on the duties of their 
respective offices, give good and sufficient bonds to the United States, 
fully to account for all moneys and public property which they may 
receive, in such sum as the Secretary of War shall direct. And all 
. . . commissaries and storekeepers shall be subject to the rules 
and articles of war, in the same manner as commissioned officers: 
Provided cdso, That all officers of the . . . commissary's depart- 
ments be submitted to the Senate for their confirmation, in the same 
manner as the officers of the Army. 

Sec. 7. That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, 
authorized to prescribe the quantity and kind of clothing to be issued 
annually to the troops of the United States: . . . Provided also, 
That the manner of issuing and accounting for clothing shall be estab- 
lished in the general regulations of the War Department. 



Act of April U, 1818' {3 Stats, 4^6). 

AN ACT regulating the staff of the Army. 
* * * 

Sec. 6. That as soon as the state of existing contracts for the sub- 
sistence of the Army shall, in the opinion of the President of the 
United States, permit it, there shall be appointed by the President, by 
and with the advice and consent of the Senate, one Commissary-Gen- 
eral, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of a colonel of ordnance, 
who shall, before entering on the duties of his office, give bond and 
security, in such sum as the President may direct; and as many assist- 
ants, to be taken from the subalterns of the line, as the service may 
require, who shall receive twenty dollars per month in addition to 
their pay in the line, and who shall, before entering on the duties of 
their office, give bond and security, in such sums as the President may 
direct. The Commissary-General and his assistants shall perform such 
duties, in purchasing and issuing of rations to the Army of the United 
States, as the President may direct. 

Sec. T. That supplies for the Arm3^ unless in particular and urgent 
cases the Secretary of War should otherwise direct, shall ])c pur- 
chased by contract, to be made by the Commissar3'-Gencral on public 
notice, to be delivered on inspection, in the bulk, and at such places 
as shall bo stipulated; which contract shall be made under such regu- 
lations as the Secretary of War may direct. 

Sec. 8. That tlie President may make such alterations in the com- 
ponent parts of the ration as a due regard to the health and comfort 
of the Army and economy may require. 

Sec. 9. That the Commissary-General and his assistants shall not be 
concerned, directly or indirectly, in the purchase or sale, in trade or 
commerce, of any article entering into the composition of the ration 

'The act of January 23, 1823 (3-721) continued sections 7, 8, 9, and 10 of this act 
in force for five years and until the end of the next session of Congress thereafter; 
continued in force until repealed, act of March 3, 1835 (4-780). 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 339 

allowed to the troops in the service of the United States, nor shall such 
officer take and apply to his own use any gain or emolument for 
negotiating- or transacting anj^ business connected with the duties of 
his office, other than what is or may be allowed ])y law; and the Cora- 
missarj'-Generai and his assistants shall be subject to martial law. 

Sec. 10. That all letters to and from the Commissary-General which 
may relate to his office duties shall be free from postage: Provided^ 
That the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth sections of this act 
shall continue and be in force for the term of fivej^ears from the pass- 
ing of the same, and thence until the end of the next session of Con- 
gress, and no longer. 

Act of May 1, ISW (-? Stats., 567). 

AN ACT in addition to the several acts for tlie establishment of the Treasury, War, 
and Navy Departments. 

* * * 

Sec. 6. That no contracts shall hereafter be made by the Secretary 
of . . the Department of War, . . . except under a law 
authorizing the same, or imder an appropriation adequate to its ful- 
filhnent; and excepting also contracts for the subsistence and clothing 
of the Army . . . which may be made by the secretaries of those 
departments. 

Act of March 2, 1S9A {3 Stats., 615). 

AN ACT to reduce and fix the military peace establishment of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 8. That there shall be one Commissary -General of Subsistence; 
and that there shall be as many assistant commissaries as the service 
may require, not exceeding fifty, who shall be taken from the sub- 
alterns of the line, and who shall, in addition to their pay in the line, 
receive a sum not less than ten nor more than twenty dollars per month; 
and that the . . . assistant commissaries of subsistence shall be 
subject to duties in both departments [and Quartermaster's Depart- 
ment] under the orders of the Secretary of War. 

Sec. y. That there shall be . . . one commissary-general of 
purchases and two military storekeepers, to be attached to the purchas- 
ing department. "^ 



Act of March 3, 189.5 (.^. Stats., mi). 

AN ACT to authorize the sale of unserviceable ordnance, arms, and military stores. 

That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, author- 
ized to cause to be sold any . . . military stores or subsistence 
. . . supplies which, upon proper inspection or survey, shall appear 

• Section 5 of this act authorizes the President to direct a portion of the moneys 
api)ropriated respectively for the service of the Quartermaster's, Subsistence, and 
Medical Departments to be applied to any other of the above-mentioned branches of 
expenditure. 

^The salary of the two storekeepers was lixed at $1,200 by the act of August 23, 
1842 (5-512). 



340 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

to be damaged or otherwise unsuitahle for the public service, whenever, 
in his opinion, the sale of such unserviceable stores will be advantageous 
to the public service. 

Sec. 2. That the inspection or survey of the unserviceable stores 
shall be made by an inspector-general, or such other officer or officers 
as the Secretary of War may appoint for that purpose; and the sales 
shall be made under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed 
by the Secretary of War. 

Aet of May 18, 1826 (^ Stats., 173). 

AN ACT regulating the accountability for clothing and equipage issued to the Army 
of the United States and for the better organization of the Quartermaster's Depart- 
ment. 

That it shall be the duty of the Quartermaster's Department, in 
addition to its present duties, to receive from the purchasing depart- 
ment and distribute to the Army of the United States all clothing and 
camp and garrison equipage required for the use of the troops. . . . 

* * * 

Act of March 2, 1827 (4- Stats., 238). 

AN ACT amendatory of the act regulating the Post-Office Department. 

* * * 

Sec. 4. That the . . . Commissary-General ... be author- 
ized to frank and to receive letters and packets by post free of 
postage. . . . 



Act of March 2, 1829 (^ Stats., 360). 
AN ACT to continue the present mode of supplying the Army of the United States. 

That the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth sections of the act 
entitled "An act regulating the staff of the Army of the United 
States," passed April the fourteenth, eighteen hundred and eighteen, 
and the eighth section of the act entitled "An act to reduce and fix the 
military peace establishment of the United States," passed March the 
second, eighteen hundred and twenty-one, are hereby continued in 
force for five years from the passing of this act, and thence to the end 
of the next session of Congress thereafter, and no longer. 

Sec. 2. That the better to enable the Commissary-General of Subsist- 
ence to carry into effect the provisions of the above specified acts there 
be appointed two connnissaries, to be taken from the line of the Army, 
one of whom shall have the same rank, pay, and emoluments as quar- 
termaster, and the other with the rank, pay, and emoluments of assist- 
ant quartermaster. 

Act of June 30, 183 J^ (^ Stats., 735). 

AN ACT to provide for the organization of the Department of Indian Affairs. 

* * * 

Sec. 16. That the President be, and he is hereby, authorized to 
cause such rations as he shall judge proper, and as can be spared from 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 341 

the army provisions without injury to the service, to be issued, under 
such regulations as he shall think tit to establish, to Indians who may 
visit the militar}^ posts or agencies of the United States on the fron- 
tiers, or in their respective nations, and a special account of such issues 
shall be kept and rendered. 



Resolution of FthraaTu i, 1836 {5 Stats., 131). 

RESOLUTION authorizing tlie President to furninh rations to certain inhabitants of 

Florida. 

That the President of the United States be authorized to cause 
rations to bo delivered from the public stores to the unfortunate suf- 
ferers who are unable to provide for themselves and who have been 
driven from their homes by Indian depredations in Florida, until they 
can be reestablished in their possessions, or so long as the President 
shall consider it necessary. 

Act of July 5, 1838 {5 Stats., 256). 

AN ACT to increase the present military establishment of the United States, and 

for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 11. That there be added to the commissariat of subsistence 
one assistant commissary-general of subsistence, with the rank, pay, 
and emoluments of a lieutenant-colonel of cavahy; one commissary of 
subsistence, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of a quartermaster 
of the Army, and three commissaries of subsistence, with the rank, 
pay, and emoluments of assistant quartermasters. 

* * * 

Sec. 17. That the allowance of sugar and coffee to the noncommis- 
sioned officers, musicians, and privates, in lieu of the spirit or whiskey 
component part of the army ration now directed b}^ regulation, shall 
be fixed at six pounds of coffee and twelve pounds of sugar to every 
one hundred rations, to be issued weekly when it can be done with 
convenience to the public service, and when not so issued to be paid 
for in money. 



Act of July 7, 1838 {fj Stats., 308). 

AN ACT supplementary to an act entitled "An act to increase the present military 
cstal)lishment of the United States, and for other purposes," approved July fifth, 
eighteen hundred and thirty-eight. 

That the act to which this is a supplement shall be, and the same 
herc])y is, explained, limited, and modified as follows: 
* * * 

Seventh. That the three assistant commissaries of subsistence author- 
ized by said act shall not be separated from the line of the Army. 



342 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Act of August ^S, 18Jf.2 (/7 Stats., 512). 
AN ACT res^pecting tlie organization of the Army, and for other purposes. 



Sec. 3. That the office of Commissary-General of Purchases, some- 
times called Commissary of Purchases, shall be, and the same is hereby, 
abolished, and the duties thereof, shall hereafter be performed ]>y the 
officers of the Quartermaster's Department, with such of the officers 
and clerks now attached to the purchasing department as shall be 
authorized by the Secretary of War, and under such regulations as 
shall be prescribed by the said Secretary, under the sanction of the 
President of the United States. 



Act of June 18, 184-6 {9 Stats., 17). 

AN ACT supplemental to an Act entitled "An Act providing for the prosecution of 
the existing war between the United States and the Republic of MexicO;" and for 
other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 5. That when volunteers or militia are called into the service 
of the United States in such numbers that the officers of the . . . 
commissary . . . departments, authorized by law, be not suffi- 
cient to provide for supplying . . . them . . . , it shall be 
lawful for the President to appoint, with the advice and consent of the 
Senate, as many additional officers of said departments as the service 
may require, not exceeding . . . one commissar}^ for each brigade, 
with the rank of major, and . . . one assistant commissary, with 
the rank of captain, . . . for each regiment; the said . . . 
commissaries, . . . and assistant commissaries, to give bonds, with 
good and sufficient sureties, for the faithful performance of their 
duties; and they ... to perform such duties as the President 
shall direct: Provided, That the said officers shall be allowed the same 
pay and emoluments as are now allowed to officers of the same descrip- 
tions and grades in those departments . . . ; that they be subject 
to the rules and articles of war, and continue in service only so long 
as their services shall be required, in connection with the militia and 

volunteers. 

* * * 

Jidi/lO, 1848 {9-246). — Provisions of pension laws construed to apply to enlisted 
men in the several corps of the Army. 

Act of Septonher 26, 1850 {9 Stats., 469). 

AN ACT to increase the commissariat of the United States Army. 

That there be added to the Subsistence Department four commissaries 
of subsistence, with the rank of captain, to be taken from the line of 

the Army. 

* * * 

September 28, 1850 {9-fj04). — Moneys received from the sale of subsistence, military 
stores, and other sui)i)lies exempted from operation of act of March 3, 1849, requiring 
certain moneys to be paid into the Treasury without abatement or reduction. 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 348 

Act of March 3, 1851 {9 Stats., 696). 

AN ACT to found a military asylum for the relief and support of invalid mid dis- 
abled soldiers of the Army of the United States. 

* * * 

Tliat . . . the Commissary-General of Subsistence, . . 
shall be, ex ({'fficio, comissionej's of the same, . . . 

* * * 

Act of June 21, 1S60 {12 Stats., Gli). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending the 
thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and sixty-one. 

* * * 

Sec. 4. That the allowance of sugar and coffee ... as fixed 
by the seventeenth section of the act of the fifth of July, eighteen 
hundred and thirty-eight, shall hereafter be ten pounds of coffee and 
fifteen pounds of sugar for ever}^ one hundred rations. 

* * * 

Act of June 23, 1860 {12 Stats., 91). 

AN ACT making a])pr()priations for the legislative, executive, and judicial expenses 
of Government for the year ending the thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and 
sixty-one. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. That all purchases and contracts for supplies or services in 
any of the Departments of the Government, except for personal serv- 
ices, when the public exigencies do not require the immediate delivery 
of articles or performance of the service, shall be made hy advertising 
a sulticient time previously for proposals respecting* the same. When 
immediate delivery or performance is required by the public exigency, 
the articles or service required may be procured by open purchase or 
contract at the places and in the manner in which such articles are usually 
bought and sold or such services engaged between individuals. No 
contract or purchase shall hereafter be made unless the same be author- 
ized by law or be under an appropriation adequate to its fulfillment, 
except in the War and Navy Departments for clothing, subsistence, 
forage, fuel, quarters, or transportation, which, however, sharll not 
exceed the necessities of the current year. No arms nor military sup- 
plies whatever which are of a patented invention shall be purchased, 
nor the right of using or applying any patented invention, unless the 
same shall be authorized by law and the appropriation therefor explic- 
itly set forth that it is for such patented invention. 



Act of FihruaTij 21, 1861 {12 Stats., ^T). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the naval service for the year ending the thir- 
tieth of June, eighteen hundred and sixty-two. 

* * * 

Sec. 5. That the third section of the act entitled "An act making 
appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial expenses of 



344 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY*OF GENEKAL STAFF OF U. S. AEMY. 

the Government for the year ending the thirtieth of June, eighteen 
hundred and sixty-one," approved June twenty-three, eighteen hun- 
dred and sixty, be, and the same is hereby, repealed, except so far as 
the said section prohibits the purchase of patented firearms, as to which 
the said section shall still be in force. 



Act of March 2, ISGl {IP. Stats., ^U). 

AN ACT making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for 
the year ending June thirty, eighteen hundred and sixty-two. 

■X- * * 

Sec. 10. That all purchases and contracts for supplies or services in 
any of the Departments of the Government, except for personal serv- 
ices, when the pul)lic exigencies do not require the immediate delivery 
of the article or articles or performance of the service, shall be made 
by advertising a sufficient time previously for proposals respecting the 
same. When immediate delivery or performance is required by the 
public exigency, the articles or service required may be procured by 
open purchase or contract at the places and in the manner in which 
such articles are usually bought and sold or such services engaged 
between individuals. No contract or purchase shall hereafter be made 
unless the same be authorized by law or be under an appropriation 
adequate to its fultillment, except in the War . . . Departments 
for clothing, subsistence, forage, fuel, quarters, or transportation, 
which, however, shall not exceed the necessities of the current year. 
And the third section of the act entitled "An act making appropria- 
tions for the legislative, executive, and judicial expenses of the Govern- 
ment for the year ending the thirtieth [twenty-third] of June, eighteen 
hundred and sixty-one," shall be, and the same is hereb}^, repealed. 

Act of July m, 1861 {12 Stats., 268). 

AN ACT to authorize the emi^loyment of volunteers to aid in enforcing the laws and 
protecting x>ublic property. 

* -X- * 

Sec. 3. . . . Each l)rigade shall . . . have . . . one 
commissary of subsistence. 

* * * 

Act cfAv(/yst .?, 1861 {12 Stats., 287). 

AN ACT providing for the ])etter organization of the military establishment. 

* * * 

Sec. 2. . . . that there shall l)e added to the Sul)sistence Depart- 
ment four commissaries of subsistence, each with the rank, pay, and 
emolimients of a major of cavalry; and eight commissaries of subsist- 
ence, with the rank, pay, and emoluments each of a captain of cavalry, 
and to be taken from the line of the Army, either of the Volunteers or 
Regular Army. 

Sec. 13. That the army ration shall be increased as follows, viz: 
Twenty-two ounces of bread or Hour, or one pound of hard bread, 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 345 

instead of the present issue; fresh beef shall be issued as often as the 
commanding officer of any detachment or regiment shall require it, 
when practicable, in place of salt meat; beans and rice or hominy shall 
be issued in the same ration in the proportions now provided by the 
regulation, and one pound of potatoes per man shall be issued at least 
three times a week, if practicable; and when these articles cannot be 
issued in these proportions, an equivalent in value shall be issued in 
some other proper food, and a ration of tea may be substituted for a 
ration of cofi'ce upon the requisition of the proper officer: Provided^ 
That after the present insurrection shall cease the ration shall be as 
provided by law and regulations on the first day of July, eighteen 
hundred and sixty-one. 



Act of July 5, 186^ {m Staf^., 505). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending 
the thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, and additional appropria- 
tions for the year ending tliirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, and 
for other purposes. 

■X- * vt- 

Sec. 10. That the Secretary of War be authorized to commute the 
army ration of cofl'ee and sugar for the extract of cofi'ee, combined 
with milk and sugar, to be procured in the same manner and with like 
restrictions and guaranties as preserved meats, pickles, ])utter, and 
desiccated vegetables are procured for the Navy, if he shall believe it 
will be conducive to the health and comfort of the Army, and not more 
expensive to the Government than the present ration, and if it shall 
be acceptable to the men. 

* * * 

July 17, 1SG2 (i^-59^).— Contractors for subsistence, clothing, etc., guilty of fraud 
to be subject to the rules and regulations governing the Army. This provision was 
extended by sec. 7 of the act of July 7, 1864 (13-394), to apply to their agents and 
to all inspectors of military supplies. 

Ad of July 17, 1862 {12 StaU., 597). 

AN ACT to amend the act calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, 
suppress insurrections, and repel invasions, approved February twenty-eighth, 
seventeen hundred and ninety-five, and the Acts amendatory thereof, and for other 
purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 10. That each Army Corps shall have . . . one commissary 
of subsistence, . . . , who shall bear, . . . the rank of 
lieutenant-colonel, and who shall be assigned from the Army or volun- 
teer force by the President. . . . 



ActofFd>riiary9, 1863 {12 Stats., 64B). 
AN ACT to promote the efficiency of the Commissary Department. 

That there shall be added to the Subsistence Department of the Army 
one brigadier-general, to l)e selected from the Subsistence Department, 
who shall be Commissary-General of Subsistence, and by regular pro- 



346 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

motion, one colonel, one lieutenant-colonel, and two majors; the col- 
onel and lieutenant-colonel to be assistant commissaries-general of 
subsistence; and that vacancies in the above-mentioned grades shall be 
filled by regular promotions in said department. And the vacancies 
created by promotions herein authorized may be filled by selection 
from the oflicers of the regular or volunteer force. 

Act of March 3, 1863 {12 StaU., 7Jlt3). 

AN ACT to promote the efficiency of the Corps of Engineers and of the Onbiance 
Department, and for other pnrposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 11. That the army ration shall hereafter include pepper, in 
the proportion of four ounces to every hundred rations. 



Act of J tine '.20, ISO If. (13 aS fats., lU)- 

AN ACT to increase the pay of soldiers in the United States Army, and for other 

purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 2. That the army ration shall hereafter be the same as pro- 
vided by law and regulations on the first day of July, eighteen hun- 
dred and sixty-one: Provided, That the ration of pepper prescribed 
in the eleventh section of the "Act to promote the efficiency of the 
Corps of Engineers and of the Ordnance Department, and for other 
purposes," approved March three, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, 
shall continue to be issued as heretofore. . . . 



Act of June 'Bo, 186J^ {13 Stats., 181). 
AN ACT to provide for tlie examination of certain officers of the Army. 

That every . . . commissary and assistant commissary of sub- 
sistence . . . shall, as soon as practicable, ho. ordered to appear 
for examination as to his qualifications before a board to be composed 
of three staff officers of the corps to which he belongs, of recognized 
merit and fitness, of whom two at least shall be officers of volunteers, 
which board shall make a careful examination as to the qualifications 
of all officers who may appear before them in pursuance of this act, 
and shall also keep minutes and make a full and true record of the 
examination in each case. And all members of such boards of exami- 
nation shall, before proceeding to the discharge of their duties as herein 
provided, swear or affirm that they will conduct all examinations with 
impartiality, and with the sole view to the qualifications of the person 
or persons to be examined, and that they will not divulge the vote of 
any member upon the examination of any officer who may appear 
before them. 

Sec. 2. That such boards of examination shall be convened under 
the direction of the Secretary of War, by the . . . Commissary- 
General of Subsistence ... at convenient places; and general 
rules of examination and a standard of qualifications shall be prescribed 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 347 

by said officers subject to the approviil of the Secretary of War, and 
shall be pul)lished in general orders. 

Sec. 3. That after such general orders shall have been published for 
sixty da3^s, if any officer who shall then be ordered before a board of 
examiners, under the provisions of this act, shall fail for thirty days, 
after receiving such special orders, to report himself as directed, all 
his pay and allowances shall cease and be forfeited until he does appear 
and rci)ort for examination; and if he shall thereafter fail for a further 
period of thirty days so to appear, he shall thereupon be dropped from 
the rolls of the Army: Provided., h(nvevei\ That if such failure to appear 
and report shall have been occasioned by wounds or sickness, or other 
physical di.sa})ility, then there shall be no forfeiture of pay until thirty 
days after such disability has been removed; but if in sixty days after 
the disability is removed the officer shall not report himself, he shall 
then be dropped from the rolls as in other cases. 

Sec. 4. That if the board of examination shall report that any officer 
does not possess the requisite business qualifications, they shall forward 
the record of the examination of such officer to the head of the bureau 
to which he ma}^ belong, and if the head of such bureau shall approve 
the finding and report of the board, he shall forward the same through 
the Secretary of War to the President of the United States, and if the 
President shall confirm the same, the officer so failing in his examination 
shall, if commissioned, be dismissed from the service with one month's 
pay, and if not yet commissioned, his appointment shall be revoked. 
And if the board shall rejwrt that any officer fails to pass a satisfactory 
examination b}" reason of intemperance, gambling, or other immorality, 
and if the head of the bureau shall approve the finding and report of 
the board, and the same being communicated, as before provided, to 
the President and confirmed by him, then such officer shall be dismissed 
from the service without pay, and shall not be permitted to reenter the 
service as an officer: Pnyuided., That such dismissal shall not relieve 
him from liability under existing laws for any ofl'ense he may have 
committed. 

Sec. 5. That the boards of examination shall forward all their records 
of examination to the heads of the bureaus to which they appertain, 
and such records shall be filed in the proper bureaus with a suitable 
index, and any officer who may desire it shall be entitled to receive a 
copy of the record in his own case upon paying the cost of copying 
the same. 

Act of July 7/, imj^. {IS Stats., 381). 

AN ACT to restrict the jurisdiction of the Court of Claims, and to provide for the pay- 
ment of certain demands for quartermaster's stores and subsistence supi)lies fur- 
nished to the Army of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. That all claims of loj^al citizens in States not in rebellion, for 
subsistence actually furnished to said Army and receipted for by the 
proper officer receiving the same, or which may have been taken by 
such officer without giving such receipt, may be submitted to the Com- 
missary-General of Subsistence, accompanied with such proof as each 
claimant may have to ofier; and it shall be the duty of the Commissary- 
General of Subsistence to cause each claim to be examined, and, if con- 
vinced that it is just, and of the loyalty of the claimant, and that the 



348 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

stores have been actually received or taken for the use of and used by 
said Army, then to report each case for payment to the Third Auditor 
of the Treasury with a recommendation for settlement. 

March 3, 1865 {13-495). — Commissaries of subsistence may sell rations at cost prices 
to officers in the field; tobacco, not exceeding 16 ounces per month, may be sold to 
enlisted men at cost prices, exclusive of cost of transportation. 

March 3, 1865 (13-507). — Provisions and clothing may be issued to destitute refu- 
gees and freedmen. 

Act of March 3, ISGO {13 Stats., 513). 

AN ACT for the better organization of the Subsistence Department. 

That during the continuance of the present rebellion, the Secretary 
of War may, when in his judgment it is necessar}-, assign to each geo- 
graphical military division, to each separate army in the field consist 
ing of more than one army corps, to each military department, and to 
each principal subsistence depot, not exceeding ten in number, an offi- 
cer of the Subsistence Department to act as chief commissary of such 
military division, army, military department, or depot, and also an 
officer of the Subsistence Department as assistant in the oflice of the 
Commissary-General of Subsistence, each of whom, while so assigned 
and acting, shall have the rank, pay, and emoluments of a colonel of 
the Subsistence Department; and in liive manner may assign, for pur- 
poses of inspection or other special duty in the Subsistence Depart- 
ment, commissaries of subsistence, not exceeding six in number, each 
of whom, while so assigned and acting, shall have the rank, pay, and 
emoluments of a lieutenant-colonel of the Subsistence Department; and 
to each army corps an officer of the Subsistence Department to be chief 
commissary of the corps, with the like rank of lieutenant-colonel; and 
in like manner may assign to each division of two or more brigades a 
commissary, who, while so assigned and acting, shall have the rank, 
pay, and emoluments of a major of the Subsistence Department: Pr'o- 
vlded, That when any one of said officers is relieved from said duty, 
his increased rank, pay, and emoluments allowed because of such 
assignment shall cease, and he shall return to his commissioned rank 
in the Subsistence Department: And j^rocided fmihei\ That the officers 
authorized to be assigned by this act shall ha selected for each grade 
from the commissaries of subsistence who hold commissions or rank in 
the volunteer service and in the regular Subsistence Department in 
proportion to the numl)er of each of said classes, respectively, in service 
at the date of the passage of this act. 

* * -X- 

Jnly 25, 1866 {14-364). — Commutation of rations at cost price to be paid lo soldiers, 
held as prisoners of war, during period of confinement. 



Act of July 28, ISGG {IJf Stat.s., 

AN ACT to increase and fix the military peace establi.shment <>f the United States. 

* -x- -x- 

Sec. 16. That the Subsistence Department of the Army shall here- 
after consist of the number of officers now authorized by law, viz: 
One Commissary-General of Subsistence,with the rank, pa}^ and emolu- 
ments of a brigadier- general; two assistant commissaries-general of 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 349 

subsistence, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of colonels of cavalry; 
two assistant commissaries-general of subsistence, with the rank, pay, 
and emoluments of lieutenant-colonels of cavalry; eight commissaries 
of subsistence, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of majors of 
cavalry; and sixteen conunissaries of subsistence, with the rank, pay, 
and emoluments of captains of cavalry. 

* * * 

Sec. 23. That the . . . Commissary-General of Subsistence 
shall hereafter be appointed by selection from the corps to which they 
belong, . . . 

* * * 

Sec. 25. . . . the Subsistence Department is hereby authorized 
and required to furnish such articles as may from time to time be 
designated by the inspectors-general of the Army, the same to be sold 
to officers and enlisted men at cost prices, . . . : Provided^ That 
this section shall not go into effect until the first day of July, eighteen 
hundred and sixty-seven. 

-X- * * 

January 31, 1S68 {14-246)- — Surplus desiccated potatoes and mixed vegetables 
may be issued to all classes of destitute persons in the 8outh. 

June 11, 1S68 {15-253) . — Eations to be issued to Professor Powell's expedition 
engaged in exploration of the Colorado Eiver. 

Act of March 3, ISGO {15 Stats., 315). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the su^jport of the Army for the year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy, and for other purposes. 

-X- * * 

Sec. 6. That until otherwise directed by law there shall be no new 
appointments and no promotions ... in the Commissary Depart- 
ment, . 

* * * 

February 15, 1870 (16-65). — Necessary suiipliea may be furnished to the poor and 
destitute of the District of Columbia. 

Act of March 3, 1873 {17 Stats., J^S5). 
AN ACT ti) provide for the better care and protection of subsistence supplies. 

That the Secretary of War be, and he is hereby, authorized and em- 

{30wered to select from the sergeants of the line of the Army who shall 
lave faithfully served therein live years, three years of which in the 
grade of noncommissioned officer, as many commissary-sergeants as 
the service may require, not to exceed .one for each military post or 
place of deposit of subsistence supplies, whose duty it shall be to 
receiv^e and preserve the subsistence supplies at the posts, under the 
direction of the proper officers of the Subsistence Department, and 
under such regulations as shall be prescribed by the Secretary of War. 
The connnissary-sergeants hereb}^ authorized shall be subject to the 
rules and Articles of War, and shall receive for their services the same 
pay and allowances as ordnance sergeants. 

April 23, 1874 {18-34)- — Temporary issue of supjilies of food may be made for the 
relief of the sufferers by the ov^erflow of the Lower Mississippi River. [By the act 
of May 13, 1874 (18-46) the authority given was to expire September 1, 1874.] 

May 28, 1874 {18-287). — Rations to be issued to destitute people ou the Tombigbee, 
Warrior, and Alabama rivers. 



350 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENEKAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 
Act of June 23, 187 J^ {IS Stats., 2U)' 
AN ACT reorganizing the several staff corps of the Army. 



Sec. 3. That hereafter there shall be three assistant commissaries- 
general of subsistence, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of lieu- 
tenant-colonel, instead of the two now allowed l)v law of said grade in 
the Subsistence Department; that the number of commissaries of sub- 
sistence with the rank, {)ay, and emoluments of a captain of cavalry is 
hereby reduced to twelve, and no appointment to fill a vacancy in said 
grade shall be made until the number thereof shall be reduced to 
twelve, and the number thereafter shall remain fixed at twelve. 

* * * 

Sec. 6. That no oflacer now in service shall be reduced in rank or 
mustered out by reason of any provision of law herein made reducing 
the number of officers in any department or corps of the staff. 

* * * 

Sec. 8. That so much of section six of an act entitled ' 'An act mak- 
ing appropriations for the support ot the Army for the year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy, and for other purposes," 
approved March third, eighteen hundred and sixty-nine, as applies to 
the . . . Subsistence . . . Departments of the Army be, and 
the same is hereby, repealed . . . 

February 10, 1875 (18-314). — Rations to be issued to persons on the Western frontier 
made destitute by grasshoppers. This act to expire September 1, 1875. 

REVISED STATUTES— 2nd edition— 1878. 

* * * 

Sec. 1094. The Armv of the United States shall consist of— 



A subsistence depaktment. 



Sec. 1134. Assistant quartermasters shall do duty as assistant com- 
missaries of subsistence when so ordered by the Secretary of War. 
* -x- -x- 

Sec. 1140. The Subsistence Department of the Army shall consist 
of one Commissary-General of Subsistence, with the rank of brigadier- 
general; two assistant commissaries-general of subsistence, with the 
rank of colonel of cavalry; two assistant commissaries-general of sub- 
sistence, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel of cavalry; eight com- 
missaries of subsistence, with the rank of major of cavalry, and sixteen 
commissaries of su])sistence, with the rank of captain of cavalry. 

Sec. 1141. It shall be the duty of the ofiicers of the Subsistence 
Department, under the direction of the Secretary of ^^^ar, to purchase 
and issue to the Army such supplies as enter into the composition of 
the ration. 

Sec. 1142, The Secretary of War is authorized to select from the 
sergeants of the line of the Army, who shall have faithfully served 
therein five years, three years of which in the grade of noncommis- 
sioned ofiicers, as many commissary sergeants as the service may 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPAETMENT. 351 

require, not to exceed one for each military post or place of deposit 
of subsistence supplies, whose duty it shall be to receive and preserve 
the subsistence supplies at the posts, under the direction of the proper 
officers of the Subsistence Department and under such regulations as 
shall be prescribed by the Secretary of War. The commissary ser- 
geants hereby authorized shall be subject to the rules and articles of 
war, and shall receive for their services the same pay and allowances 
as ordnance sergeants. 

Sec. ll'iS. The officers of the Subsistence Department shall, upon 
the requisition of the naval or marine officer commanding any detach- 
ment of seamen or marines under orders to act on shore, in cooperation 
with the land troops, and during the time such detachment is so act- 
ing or proceeding to act, furnish rations to the officers, seamen, and 
marines of the same. 

Sec. 1144. The officers of the Subsistence Department shall procure, 
and keep for sale to officers and enlisted men at cost prices, for cash 
or on credit, such articles as may, from time to time, be designated by 
the inspectors-general of the Army. An account of all sales on credit 
shall be kept, and the amount due for the same shall be reported 
monthly to the Paymaster-General. 

* * * 

Sec. 1146. Each ration shall consist of one pound and a quarter of 
beef or three-quarters of a pound of pork, eighteen ounces of bread 
or flour, and at the rate of ten pounds of coffee, fifteen pounds of 
sugar, two quarts of salt, four quarts of vinegar, four ounces of pep- 
per, four pounds of soap, and one pound and a half of candles to every 
hundred rations. The President ma}^ make such alterations in the 
component parts of the rations as a due regard to the health and com- 
fort of the Army and economy ma}^ require. 

Sec. 1147. The Secretary of War may commute the rations of coffee 
and sugar for the extract of coffee combined with milk and sugar, if 
he shall believe such commutation to be conducive to the health and 
comfort of the Army, and not to be more expensive to the Govern- 
ment than the present ration, provided the same shall be acceptable to 
the men. 

Sec. 1148. The ration of sugar and coffee, when issued in kind, shall, 
when the convenience of the service permits, be issued weekly. 

Sec. 1149. Tobacco shall be furnished to the enlisted men by the 
commissaries of subsistence, at cost prices, exclusive of the cost of 
transportation, in such quantities as they ma}^ require, not exceeding 
sixteen ounces per month. 

Sec. 1150. No officer belonging to the Sul)sistence Department, or 
doing the duty of a subsistence officer, shall be concerned, directly or 
indirectly, in the purchase or sale of any article entering into the com- 
position of the rations allowed to troops in the service of the United 
States, or of any article designated by the inspectors- general of the 
Army and furnished for sale to officers and enlisted men at cost prices, 
or of tobacco furnished for sale to enlisted men, except on account of 
the United States; nor shall any such officer take or appl}^ to his own 
use any gain or emolument for negotiating or transacting any business 
connected with the duties of his otiice, other than that which ma}^ be 

allowed by law. 

* * * 

Sec. 1191. All officers of the . . . Subsistence . . . depart- 
ments, . . . shall, before entering upon the duties of their respec- 



352 LEGISLATIVE HISTUKY OF GENEKAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

tive offices, give good and sufficient bonds to the United States, in such 
sums as the Secretary of War may direct, faithfully to account for all 
public monevs and property which they may receive. The President 
may at any time increase the sums so prescribed. . 

-X- -X- * 

Sec. 1193. The . . . Commissary-General of Sulisistencc, . . . 
shall be appointed l)}- selection from the corps to which the}^ belong. 

Sec. IVJ-i. Until otherwise directed by law there shall be no new 
appointments and no promotions in the . . . Subsistence . . . 

departments. 

* * * 

Sec. 1211. The President may cause to be sold any military stores 
which, upon proper inspection or survey, appear to be damaged or 
unsuitable for the public service. Such inspection or survey shall be 
made by officers designated liy the Secretary of AVar, and the sales 
shall be made under regulations prescribed by him. 

* * * 

Sec. 1293. Sergeants and corporals of ordnance shall be entitled to 
receive one ration and a half daily. Other enlisted men shall be entitled 
to receive one ration daily. 

Sec. 1291. For each ration of sugar and coli'ee not issued, nor com- 
muted for the extract of coffee combined with milk and sugar, enlisted 
men shall be paid in money. 

* -X- * 

Sec. 1617. . . . Each ])rigade [of militia called in service] 
. . . shall have . . . one commissar}^ of subsistence. ... 

* -x- * 

Sec, 1655. When the militia in the military service of the United 
States are employed on the Western frontiers, there shall be allowed 
two ounces of flour or bread and two ounces of ])eef or pork, in addi- 
tion to each of their rations, and half a pint of salt, in addition to 
every hundred of their rations. 

-X- -x- * 

Sec. 3711. All purchases and contracts for supplies or services for 
the military . . , service shall ))e made l)y or under the direction 
of the chief officers of the departments of war. , . . And all 
agents or contractors for supplies or service as aforesaid shall render 
their accounts for settlement to the accountant of the proper depart- 
ment for which such supplies or services are required, sul)ject, neverthe- 
less, to the inspection and revision of the officers of the Treasury. . . . 

Sec. 3715. Contracts for subsistence supplies for the Army, made 
by the Commissary-General, on public notice, shall provide for a com- 
plete delivery of such articles, on inspection, at such places as shall be 

stipulated. 

* * * 

Sec. 3732. No contract or purchases on behalf of the United States 
shall be mad(>, luiless the same is authorized ))y law or is under an 
appropriation adequate to its fuliillment, except in the War . . , 
Departments, for . . . subsistence . . . , which, however, 
shall not exceed the necessities of the current year. 

■X- -x- * 

Sec. 1815. The Commissary-General of Subsistence, . . . shall 
constitute a board of commissioners for the Soldiers' Plome. . . . 

* * * 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 353 

STATUTES AT LARGE. 

June 23, 1S79 (21-30).— To the cost of all stores and other articles sold to officers and 
men, except tobacco, ten per centum shall be added to cover wastage, transportation, 
aiid other incidental charges. 

Aet of May J^, 1880 {21 StaU. , 110). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year end- 
ing June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-one, and for other purjposes. 

* * ->r 

. . . Provided., That to the cost of all stores and other articles 
sold to otificers and men, except tobacco, as provided for in section one 
thousand one hundred and fort^-nine of the Revised Statutes, ten per 
centiun shall be added to cover wastage, transportation, and other inci- 
dental charges, save that sul)sistence supplies may be sold to companies, 
detachments, and hospitals at cost prices, not including cost of trans- 
portation upon the certiticate of an officer commanding a compan}^ or 
detachment or in charge of a hospital, that the supplies are necessary 
for the exclusive use of such company, detachment, or hospital. 
* * * 

May 4, 1880 {S 1-306). —AnihoYvms issue of 4,000 rations for the use of the sufferers 
made destitute by the cyclone at Macon, Miss. 

Februari/ 24, 1881 {21-346). — The cost price of articles sold by the Subsistence 
Department to officers and men shall be understood, in all cases," to be the invoice 
price of the last lot of that article received by the officer by whom the sale is made. 

February 25, 1882 {22-378). — Rations may be issued for the relief of sufferers from 
the overflow of the Mississippi River. Additional appropriation for the purpose was 
made by joint resolution of March 21, 1882 (22-379), and joint resolution of April 25, 
1890 (26-671). 

Act of MdVi-h S, 188S {22 Stats., 4^6). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year end- 
ing June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-four, and for other purposes. 



PAY DEPARTMENT. 

For pay of the Army. — . . . Provided, . . . and here- 
after vacancies occurring in the . . . Commissary Departments 
of the Army may, in the discretion of the President, be tilled from 
civil life. 



Act of March o\ 188S {22 Stats., 56 J^). 

AN ACT prescribing regulations for the Soldiers' Home located at Washington, in 
the District of Columbia, and for other purposes. 



Sec. lt>. That the Board of Commissioners of the Soldiers' Home 
shall hereafter consist of . . . , the Commissary-General, . . . 

February 12, 1884 {23-267). — Subsistence stores may be issued to destitute persons 
in the district overflowed by the Ohio River and its tributaries. Additional appro- 
in-iation for this purpose was made by resolution of Februarv 15, 1884 (23-268). 

March 27, 1884 {23-269).— ^ot exceeding $125,000 of tlie appropriation for the 

S. Doc. 229 23 



354 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Ohio sufferers may be used for the reUef of destitute persons in the district overflowed 
by the Mississippi River and its tributaries. Resolution of June 7, 1884 (23-273) , 
allows for same purpose the unexpended appropriation for the relief of the Ohio 
sufferers. 

Act of July J, ISSJf. {23 Stats., 107). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year end- 
ing June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-five, and for other jnirposes. 

Vc * •;■:■ 

Subsistence of the Army. — . . . Provided., That hereafter 
all sales of subsistence supplies to officers and enlisted men shall be 
made at cost price only; and the cost price of each article shall be under- 
stood, in all cases of such sales, to be the invoice price of the last lot of 
the article received hy the officers making the sale prior to the lirst day 
of the month in which the sale is made. . . . 

Quartermaster's Department. — . . . Provided., That here- 
after all purchases of regular and miscellaneous supplies for the Army 
furnished by the . . . Commissar}^ Department for immediate 
use shall be made by the officers of such department under direction 
of the Secretary of War, at the places nearest the points where they 
are needed, the conditions of cost and quality being equal: Provided 
also., That all purchases of said sitpplies, except in cases of emergency, 
which must be at once reported to the Secretary of War for his 
approval, shall be made by contract after pul)lic notice of not less 
than ten days for small amounts for immediate use, and of not less 
than from thirty to sixty days whenever in the opinion of the Secre- 
tary of War the circumstances of the case and conditions of the serv- 
ice shall warrant such extension of time. The award in every case 
shall be made to the lowest respousil)le bidder for the best and most 
suita]>le article, the right being reserved to reject any and all bids. 
The . . . Commissary-General of Subsistence shall report 
promptly all purchases of supplies made b}^ his department, with their 
cost price and place of delivery, to the Secretary of War, for trans- 
mission to Congress aimually. 

* * -s 

April 25, 1890 {26-671) . — Authorizes purchase of subsistence stores for the relief of 
such destitute j^ersons as require assistance in the district recently overflowed by the 
Mississippi River and its tributaries. 

Act ofJnnc 10\ 1S90 {26 Stats., 157). 

AN ACT to prevent desertions from tlie Army, and for other jiurposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 5. That the army ration now provided by law shall l)e increased 
by the addition thereto of one pound of vegetables, the proportion to 
be hxed by the Secretary of War. 

Act of March 29, 1891^ {28 Stats., p). 

AN ACT to regulate the making of property returns by officers of the Government. 

That instead of forwarding to the accounting officers of the Treasurv 
Department returns of public property intrusted to the possession of 
officers or agents, . . . the Commissary-General of Subsist- 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPAKTMENT. 355 

ence . . . shall certify to the proper accounting- officer of the 
Treasury Department, for debiting- on the proper account any charge 
against any officer or agent intrusted with public property arising 
from an}" loss, accruing ])y his fault, to the Government as to the 
property so intrusted to him. 



Act of AuguHt 6, 189 1^ {28 Stats., 233). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year end- 
ing June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-five, and for other purposes. 

FOR PAY OF THE GENERAL STAFF. 

. . , Provided., That . . . hereafter all appointments to fill 
vacancies in the lowest grade in the . . . Subsistence Department, 
respeetivelv, shall be made from the next lowest grade in the line of 
the Army. 



Act of Felrnary 12, 1895 {28 Stcds., 654). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year 
ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-six, and for other purposes. 



FOR PAY OF THE GENERAL STAFF, 



Subsistence Department: . . . Provided, That there shall be 
no appointment of commissary of subsistence with the rank of captain 
until the number of such officers in that grade shall be reduced below 
eight, and thereafter the number of such officers in that grade shall be 
fixed at eight. 

March 2, 1895 (S'<?-76"4), abolishes section 229, Revised Statutes, requiring annual 
statement of contracts for supplies or services. 

April 7, 1897 {80-219). — Rations to be issued for the relief of destitute persons in 
districts overflowed by the Mississippi River and the Red River of the North. Pro- 
vision repeated in joint resolution of June 9, 1897 (30-221). 

May 27, 1897 {30-220) , authorizes purchase of food for the relief of destitute citi- 
zens of the United States in Cuba. 

December 18, 1897 {30-226). — Subsistence stores to be issued for the relief of per- 
sons in the Yukon River country. 

Act of Ajyril 22, 1898 {30 Stats. ^ 361). 

AN ACT to provide for temporarily increasing the military establishment of the 
United States in time of war, and for other purposes. 

* -/> * 

Sec. 10. That the staff of the commander of an arm}^ corps shall 
consist of . . . one chief commissary of subsistence, 
who shall have . . . the rank of lieutenant-colonel; 
The staff" of the commander of a division shall consist of . . . one 
chief commissar}' of subsistence, . . . who shall have . 



356 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

the rank of major, . . . The staff of the commander of a l^rigade 
shall consist of one commissary of subsistence, . . . with the 
rank of captain, , 

* ■:: * 

May 18, 189S {S()-419). — Prt'Hcribef niodts of issuing subsistence stores to the 
destitute inhabitants of Cuba. 

Act of July 7, 1S98 {30 Stats., 715.) 
AN ACT to increa.«e the efficiency of the Subsistence Department of the Army. 

That during the existence of the present war, and for not exceeding 
one year thereafter, every commissary of subsistence, of whatever 
rank, w^ho shall be assigned to the duty of purchasing and shipping 
subsistence supplies at important depots shall have the rank next 
above that held by him and not above colonel, but the number so 
assigned shall only be such as may be found necessar}^, not exceeding 
twelve; also, that the two commissaries of subsistence who ma}^ be 
detailed as assistants to the Commissary-General of Subsistence shall 
have the rank of colonel, provided that when any such officer is 
relieved from said duty his temporarv rank, pay, and emoluments shall 
cease, and he shall return to his lineal rank in the Department. 

Sec. 2. That there is hereby authorized to be added to the subsist- 
ence department in the volunteer service during the present war, and 
not to exceed one year thereafter, eight majors and twelve captains 
for the discharge of such subsistence duties as may be assigned to 
them by the Secretary of War, to be nominated and, by and with the 
advice and consent of the Senate, to be appointed by the President. 

Act of March 2, 1S90 [30 Statx., 977). 

AN ACT for increasing the efficiency of the Army of the United States, and for 

other i3urposes. 

That from and after the date of approval of this act the Arm}' of 
the United States shall consist of . . . , a Subsistence Depart- 
ment, . 

•:;■ * -x- 

Sec. 7. That the . . . , Subsistence Department, . . . shall 
consist of the officers and enlisted men now provided by law: . . . 

* * * 

Sec. 11. That so nuich of the act approved July seventh, eighteen 
hundred and ninety-eight, as authorizes the assignment of certain 
officers of the . . . subsistence departments with increased rank, 
and the continuance in service of certain volunteer officers of these 
departments for a period of one 3^ear after the close of the present 
war, is repealed. 

•X- * * 

Sec. 11. That the President is hereby authorized to continue in 
service, or to appoint by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
officers of the volunteer staff as follows: 

* * * 

Six commissaries of subsistence with the rank of major, and twelve 
assistant commissaries of subsistence with the rank of captain. 



THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 357 

Act of 3farck 3, 1S99 (30 Stats., 106 J^). 

AN ACT making appropriation for the support of the regular and vohmteer army 
for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred. 

* * * 

[The total appropriation for the Subsistence Department] to be dis- 
bursed and accounted for as "Subsistence of the Army," and for that 
purpose shall constitute one fund. 



Act of February '2, 1901 (31 Stats., — ). 

AN ACT to increase the efhciency of the permanent militar}- estii])]isliment of the 

United States. 

That from and after the approval of this act the Army of the 
United States . . . shall consist of . . . a Subsistence 
Department, ... 

•A- * •5:- 

Sec. 17. That the Subsistence Department shall consist of one Com- 
missar^^-General with the rank of brigadier-general, three assistant 
commissaries-o-eneral with the rank of colonel, four deputy commis- 
saries-general with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, nine commissaries 
with the rank of major, twenty-seyen commissaries with the rank of 
captain, mounted, and the number of commissary-sergeants now 
authorized by law, who shall hereafter be known as post commissary- 
sergeants: Provided, That all vacancies in the grades of colonel, lieu- 
tenant-colonel, and major, created or caused by this section, shall be 
filled by promotion, according to seniorit}", as now prescribed by law. 
That to till original vacancies in the grade of captain, created by this 
act, in the Subsistence Department, the President is authorized to 
appoint officers of volunteers commissioned in the Subsistence Depart- 
ment since April twenty-first, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight. 

■K- * * 

Sec. 26. That so long as there remain any officers holding permanent 
appointments in the . . . Subsistence Department, 
inckiding those appointed to original vacancies in the grades of captain 
and first lieutenant under the provisions of sections sixteen, seventeen, 
twenty-one, and twenty-four of this act, they shall be promoted accord- 
ing to seniority in the several grades, as now provided by law, and 
nothing herein contained shall be deemed to apply to vacancies which 
can be filled by such promotions or to the periods for which the offi- 
cers so promoted shall hold their appointments, and when any vacancy, 
except that of the chief of the department or corps, shall occur, which 
can not be filled by promotion as provided in this section, it shall be 
filled by detail from the line of the Army, and no more permanent 
appointments shall be made in those departments or corps after the 
original vacancies created by this act shall have been filled. Such 
details shall be made from the grade in which' the vacancies exist, 
under such system of examination as the President may from time to 
time prescribe. 

All officers so detailed siiall serve for a period of four years, at the 
expiration of which time they shall return to duty with the line, and 
officers below the rank of lieutenant-colonel shall not ao-ain be elio-ible 



358 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

for selection in an}- staff department until thoy shall have served two 
years with the line. 

That when vacancies shall occur in the position of chief of any staff 
corps or department the President may appoint to such vacancies, by 
and with the advice and consent of the Senate, officers of the Army at 
large not below the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and who shall hold office 
for terms of four years. When a vacancy in the position of chief of any 
staff' corps or department is tilled by the appointment of an officer 
below the rank now provided by law for said office, said chief shall, 
while so serving, have the same rank, pay, and allowances now pro- 
vided for the chief of such corps or department. And any officer now 
holding office in any corps or department who shall hereafter serve as 
chief of a staff' corps or department and shall subsequently be retired, 
shall be retired with the rank, pay. and allowances authorized by law 
for the retirement of such corps or department chief: Provided^ That 
so long as there remain in service officers of any staff corps or depart- 
ment holding permanent appointments, the chief of such staff corps or 
department shall be selected from the officers so remaining therein. 

Sec. 27. That each position vacated by officers of the line, trans- 
ferred to any department of the staff' for tours of service under this 
act, shall be filled by promotion in the line until the total number 
detailed equals the number authorized for duty in each staff depart- 
ment. Thereafter vacancies caused by details from the line to the 
staff' shall be tilled by officers returning from tours of staff' d\\i\. If 
under the operation of this act the number of officers returned to any 
particular arm of the service at any time exceeds the number authorized 
by law in any grade, promotions to that grade shall cease until the 
number has been reduced to that authorized. 

•X- ^v * 

Sec. 40. That the President be, and he is hereby, authorized to pre- 
scribe the kinds and quantities of the component articles of the army 
ration, and to direct the issue of substitutive equivalent articles in 
place of any such components whenever, in his opinion, economy and 
a due regard to the health and comfort of the troops may so require. 



Act of March 2, 1901 {31 Stats., —). 

AN ACT making appropriation for the support of the Army for the ligcal year ending 
June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and two. 

Provided, That appointments to fill original vacancies ... in 
the grade of captain in the . . . Subsistence Department . . . 
may be made from officers of volunteers commissioned since April 
twenty-first, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight. . . . 



VIl.-THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 



359 



THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 



July 27, 1775, Congress created an Hospital Department for the 
Army, its chief being- designated as Director-General and Chief Phy- 
sician. By the resolution of April 7, 1777, Congress adopted the scheme 
for a Medical Department prepared by the Army Medical Committee 
of Congress, based on the organization of the British service and 
accepted because it was so, for, as General Washington said, "The 
number of officers mentioned in the inclosed plan I presume are nec- 
essary for us, because they are found so in the British hospitals." 

For some years subsequent to the close of the Revolutionary war 
the Army consisted of troops enlisted for short terms of service, with 
no provision for medical service other than that ati'orded by regimental 
medical officers. The act of March 10, 1802, allowed two surgeons 
and twenty-live mates as the peace establishment, and by the act of 
April 12, 1808, the President was authorized to appoint such number 
of hospital surgeons and surgeons' mates as the service might require. 
There was, however, no provision made for a chief of the Department 
until, under the act of March 3, 1813, the office of Physician and 
Surgeon-General was created; but the act of April 11, 1818, gave to 
the Medical Department, for the lirst time in its history, a permanent 
chief under the title of "Surgeon-General." 

1775-1783. 

Dlrcftor-G'eneral and Chief Phi/siciaii. 

July 27, 1775. — Dr. Benjamin Church (Massachusetts). 

Sept. 14, 1775. — Dr. Samuel Strino^er (^laryland), Northern Department. 

Oct. 17, 1775. — Dr. John Morgan (Pennsylvania). 

Diri'ctor-Ceneral. 

Apr. 11, 1777. — Dr. "William Shippen, jr. (Pennsylvania). 

Mar. 22, 1780. — Dr. David Oliphant (South Carolina), of hospitals in South Carolina. 

Jan. 17, 17<S1. — Dr. John Cochran (Pennsylvania). 

Plijliiician- General. 

Apr. 11, 1777. — Dr. Malachi Treat (New York), Northern Department. 

Dr. Ammi Ruhamah Cutler (New Hampshire), Eastern Department. 

Dr. Walter Jones (Virginia), Middle Department. 
July 1, 1777. — Dr. Benjamin Rush (Pennsylvania), Middle Department. 
July 2, 1777. — Dr. William Brown (Virginia), Middle Department. 

S'nrgeoji-General. 

Apr. 11, 1777. — Dr. Francis Forgue (Connecticut), Northern Department. 

Dr. Philip Turner (Connecticut), Eastern Department. 

Dr. Benjamin Rush (Pennsylvania), IMiddle Department. 
July 2. 1777. — Dr. William Brown (Virginia), Middle Department. 
Feb. 21, 1778. — Dr. Charles McKnight (Pennsylvania), Middle Department. 

361 



362 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Pluisicicni <tnd Sur(j eon- General. 

Apr. 11, 1777. — Dr. John Bartlett (Rhode Island), Northern Department. 
Dr. WilUam Burnet (New Jersey), Eastern Department. 
Dr. John Cochran (Pennsylvania), Middle Department. 

Chief PJnjsicicin and Snrgeun. 

Oct. 6, 1780. — Dr. John Cochran (Pennsylvania). 

Mar. 3,1781. — Dr. James Craik (Virginia). 

Mar. 5,1781. — Dr. William Burnet (New Jersey). 

Chief Physician. 

July 15,1776. — Dr. William Shippen (Pennsylvania), for the flying camp. 
May 15, 1781. — Dr. Peter Fayssoux (South Carolina) , of hospital in southern army, 
Dr. James Brown ( ) , of the southern army. 

Purveyor. 

Oct. 6, 1780.— Dr. Thomas Bond, jr. (Pennsylvania). 

Apotln_'cary. 

Oct. 7,1780. — Dr. Andrew Craigie (^lassachusetts). 

1789-1901. 

PJty.sician-(Tener(d. 

July 19,1798. — Dr. James Craig (Virginia). 

I'lii/sician (Oid ><argeou-( leneral. 

June 11, 1813. — Dr. James Tilton (Delaware). 

Apotliecarii-General. 

June 11, 1813. — Dr. Francis le Baron (Massachusetts). 

Surgeon- General. 

Apr. 18,1818. — Dr. Joseph Lovell (Massachusetts). 

Nov. 30, 1836.— Dr. (Bvt. Brig. Gen., May 30, 1848) Thomas Lawson (Virginia). 

May 15, 1861.— Dr. (Bvt. Brig. Gen., March 13, 1865) Clement A. Finley (Ohio). 

Apr. 25,1862. — Brig. Gen. William A. Hammond (Maryland). 

Aug. 22,1864. — Brig. Gen. Joseph K. Barnes (Pennsvlvania). 

Julv 3, 1882.— Brig. Gen. Charles H. Crane (3Iassachusetts). 

Nov. 23, 1883.— Brig. Gen. Robert Murray (Maryland). 

Nov. 18, 1886.— Brig. Gen. John Moore (Indiana) . 

Aug. 16,1890. — Brig. Gen. Jedediah H. Baxter (Vermont). 

Dec. 30, 1890.— Brig. Gen. Charles Sutherland (Pennsylvania). 

May 30, 1893. — Brig. Gen. George M. Sternberg (New York). 



THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 



JOTJUNALS OF THE AMERICAN (CONTINENTAL) CONGRESS. 

July ID, 1775. 

Resolved, . . . That a committee of three be appointed to report 
the method of establishing an hospitah 

The committee chosen are, Mr. Lewis, Mr. Paine, and ]Mr. 

Middleton. 

Jidy ^37, 1775. 

The Congress took into consideration the report of the committee 
on establishing an hospital for the Arm}', and the same being debated, 
was agreed to as follows: 

That for the establishment of an hospital for the Army, consisting of 
twenty thousand men, the following officers ... be appointed, 
with the following allowance or pay, viz: 

One director-general and chief physician, his pay per day, four 
dollars. 

Four surgeons, each ditto, one and one-third of a dollar. 

One apothecary, ditto, one and one-third of a dollar. 

Twenty surgeons' mates, each ditto, two-thirds of a dollar. 

One clerk, ditto, two-thirds of a dollar. 

Four storekeepers, each four dollars per month. 

One nurse to every ten sick, one-tifteenth of a dollar per day, or 
two dollars per month. 

Laborers occasionally. 

THE DUTY OF THE ABOVE OFFICERS. 

The director to furnish medicines, bedding, and all other necessaries, 
to pay for the same, superintend the whole, and make his report to 
and receive orders from the Commander in Chief. 

Surgeons, ^apothecaries, and mates — to visit and attend the sick, 
and the mates to obey the orders of the physicians, surgeons, and 
apothecaries. 

Matron — to superintend the nurses, bedding, etc. 

Clerk — to keep accounts for the director and storekeepers. 

Storekeeper — to receive and deliver the bedding and other neces- 
saries by order of the director. 

The Congress then proceeded to the election of officers for the hos- 
pital, when 

Benjamin Church was unaiiimousl}' elected to ])e director of, and 
physician in, the hospital. 

363 



364 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GEifEEAL STAFF OF U. S. AEMY. 

Resolved^ That the appointment of the four surgeons and the apoth- 
ecary be left to Doctor B. Church. 

That the mates be appointed by the surgeons. 

That the number of mates do not exceed twenty. 

That the number be not kept in constant pay, unless the sick and 
wounded should be so numerous as to require the attendance of twenty, 
and to be diminished as circumstances will admit; for which purpose 
the pay is fixed b}" the day, that they may only receive pay for actual 
service. 

That or;o clerk, two storekeepers, and one nurse to every ten sick 
be appointed by the director. 

Sej)temher IJf,^ 1775. 

Resolved^ That Samuel Stringer, esq., be appointed director of the 
hospital and chief physician and surgeon for the Army in the northern 
department. 

That the paj^ of the said Samuel Stringer, as director, physician, and 
surgeon, be four dollars per day. 

That he be authorized and have power to appoint a number of sur- 
geons' mates under him, not exceeding four. 

That the pay of said mates be two-thirds of a dollar per day. That 
the number be not kept in constant pa}", unless the sick and wounded 
be so numerous as to require the constant attendance of four, and to 
be diminished as circumstances will admit, for which reason the pay is 
fixed b}^ the day, that they ma}^ only receive pay for actual service. 

That the deputy commissary-general be directed to pay Dr. Stringer 
for the medicines he has purchased for the use of the Army, and that 
he purchase and forward such other medicines as General Schuyler 
shall, by his warrant, direct for the use of said Army. 

That Mr. Dyer, Mr. Lynch, Mr. Jay, Mr. J. Adams, and Mr. Lewis 
be a committee to devise ways and means for supplying the Continental 
Army wi'th medicines. 

Septfnd)er 33, 1775. 

Ordered, That the committee appointed to devise ways and means 
of supplying the Army with medicines do buy a parcel of drugs in 
the hands of Mr. Rapalje, which he offers at prime cost. 

October 3, 1775. — "Doctor Isaac Foster, to take the direction and sui^erintendency 
of the general hospital until further orders." {Orders, General Headquarters [no 
place given].) 

October 14, 1775. — Dr. Churcli was arrested for holding correspondence with the 
enemy. 

Octoher 17, 1775. 

The Congress proceeded to the election Ol a director-general and 
chief physician of the hospital [in Massachusetts Bay], in the room of 
Dr. Church, and the ballots being examined, 

Dr. John Morgan, of Philadelphia, was elected. 

Janna I'll ri, 1776. 

Resol'ved^ That the following goods and stores ought to ])e imported 
as soon as possible for the use of the United Colonies, viz: 



THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 365 

Medicine.M, .surgeon.s* iiKstrumeuts, lint and l)andag'es. in the whole to 
the amount of £2,000 sterling. 

Renolved^ That the secret comiiiittce be empowered and directed to 
pursue the most efiectual measures for importing the foregoing 
articles. 

MaTch U 1776. 

Mesolved, That the secret committee be directed to treat with the 
owners of some medicines lately imported, and to purchase the same 
on the most reasonable terms for the use of the continent. 

May 3, 1776. 

Mewlved, That the secret committee be directed to send two hun- 
dred pounds of Peruvian bark to the commanding officer in Virginia 
for the use of the Continental forces in the southern department. 

May 11, 1776. 

Resolved^ That two sets of trepanning instruments be sent to Vir- 
ginia for the use of the surgeons of the Continental troops there; and 
that two sets of trepanning instruments and 100 lbs. of Peruvian l)ark 
be sent to North Carolina for the use of the Continental troops in that 
colony. 

May IS, 1776. 

The Congress then proceeded to the election of a director of the 
hospital in Virginia, and the ballots being taken, 

William Kickman was elected. 

Resolved, That the hospital in Virginia be on the same establish- 
ment, and the pay of the officers thereof the same, as the hospital 
established in the eastern department; 

That two surgeons, one apothecary, six mates ... be allowed 
to the hospital in Virginia; 

That the director be empowered to nominate the surgeons and 
apothecary-; 

That the mates be appointed l)y the surgeons, and that the number 
of the mates be diminished as circumstances will admit; for which rea- 
son the pay is fixed by the day, that they may only receive pay for 
actual services. 

Jwic 17, 1776. 

Resolved, . . . That the committee appointed to provide medi- 
cines be directed to send a proper assortment of medicines to Canada. 

Jime IS, 1776. 

Resolved, That Mr. Heyward and ]\Ir. Hall be added to the commit- 
tee procuring medicines. 



366 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

July 6\ 1770. 

Eesolved, That Doctor Jonathan Potts be emplo^^ed as a physician 
and surgeon in the Canada department or at Lake George, as the gen- 
eral shall direct; but that this appointment shall not supersede Dr. 
Stringer. 

Jidy i'7, 1776. 

Resolved^ That a chief ph^ysician ))e appointed for the tij'ing camp, 
and that his pay be four dollars a day. 
The ballots being taken and examined, 
Doctor William Shippen, jr., was elected. 

July 17. 1776. 

Resolved, That the numljer of hospital surgeons and mates be 
increased in proportion to the augmentation of the Army, not exceed- 
ing one surgeon and live mates to every five thousand men, to be 
reduced when the Army is reduced or when there is no further occa- 
sion for such a number; 

That as many persons Ije employed in the several hospitals . . . 
as are necessary for the service for the time being, to be appointed by 
the directors of the respective hospitals; 

* * * 

That the several directors of hospitals in the several departments 
. . . shall transmit to the director-general regular returns of the 
number of surgeons' mates and other officers employed under them, 
their names and pay; also an account of the expenses and furniture of 
the hospital under their direction, and that the director-general make 
reports of the same, from time to time, to the Commander in Chief 
and this Congress. 

■X- % '^ 

That the pay of the hospital surgeons be increased to "one dollar and 
two-thirds of' a dollar by the day; the pay of the hospital mates to 
one dollar by the day; and the pay of the hospital apothecary to one 
dollar and two-thirds of a dollar by the day; and that the hospital 
surgeons and mates take rank of regimental surgeons and mates. 

July '20. 1776. 

Resolved. That Dr. Senter be recommended to Dr. Morgan, who is 
desired to examine him, and if, upon examination, he be found quali- 
fied, to employ him in the hospital as a surgeon. 

A'ugu-st 6', 1776. 

Resolved, That the medical conmiittee be directed to supply the 
director of the hospital with such medicines as he may want. 

Auynxf 7. 1776. 
Resolved. That Dr. Rush be added to the medical committee. 



THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 367 

AucTKsf 20, 1776. 

Ite^ohicd^ That Dr. Morgan was appointed director-general and 
physician in chief of the American Hospital; 

That Dr. Stringer was appointed director and physician of the 
hospital in the northern department only; 

That every director of a hospital possesses the exclusive right of 
appointing surgeons and hospital othcers of all kinds, agreeable to the 
resolutions of Congress of the ITth of tTuly, in his own department, 
unless otherwise directed by Congress; 

That Dr. Stringer be authorized to appoint a surgeon for the lieet 
now titting out upon the lakes; 

. That a druggist be appointed in Philadelphia, whose business it shall 
be to receive and deliver all medicines, instruments, and shop furniture 
for the benefit of the United States; 

That a salary of 30 dollars a month be paid to the said druggist for 
his labor. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a druggist, and. the ballots 
being taken. 

Dr. William Smith was elected. 

Augmt m, 177 G. 

Resolved^ That Congress have a proper sense of the merits and serv- 
ices of Dr. McHenry, and reconunend the directors of the dili'erent 
hospitals belonging to the United States to appoint Dr. McHenr}^ to 
the first vacancy that shall happen of a surgeon's berth in any of the 
said hospitals. 

Sej^teiiiher 16, 1776. 

Ri'^ol ved, . . . That the medical committee send an assortment 
of proper medicines to the northern army; 

* -» -X- 

Sejytevdx'v 20, 1776. 

Ordered, That the medical committee forward 300 lbs. of Peruvian 
bark to the southern department, for the use of the troops there. 
* * * 

Resolved, That an assistant ph3'sician to Dr. Shippen be appointed 
for the flying camp and troops in New Jersey, and that his pay be 2 
dollars and f d. per day; 

The ballot ])eing taken, 

Dr. AVilliam Brown was elected. 

Sejiternher ^Jf,, 1776. 

Resolved, That a committee of live be appointed to devise ways and 
means for eftectuall}" providing the northern army with 
medicines . . . 

The members chosen, Mr. Rush, Mr. Hall, Mr. Chase, Mr. Johnson, 
and Mr. Stockton. 

Resolved, That the medical committee be directed to apply to the 
council of safety of Pennsylvania for a quantity of medicines, to be 
repaid in kind or in cash, as they shall choose. 



368 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Sejytemher 30^ 1776. 

Resolved, . . . That it be recommended to the legislatureH of the 
United States to appoint gentlemen in their respective States, skillful 
in physic and surg*ery, to examine those who offer to serve as sur- 
geons or suro^eons' mates in the Arm}' . . . and that no surgeon or 
mate shall hereafter receiA^e a commission or warrant to act as such in 
the Army . . . who shall not produce a certiiicate from some one of 
the examiners to l^e appointed, to prove that he is qualified to execute 
the office. 

That all regimental surgeons and mates, as well as those of the hos- 
pital, be subject to the direction and control of the directors in the 
several departments. 

(k-tohe7' 9, 1770. 

Resolved., . . . That John Morgan, esq., provide and superintend 
an hospital, at a proper distance from the camp, for the army posted 
on the east side of Hudson River, 

That William Shippon, jr., esq., provide and superintend an hospital 
for the arm}^ in the State of New Jersey. 

That each of the hospitals be supplied by the respective directors 
with such a number of surgeons, apothecaries, surgeons' mates . . . 
as they shall judge expedient. 

That thcA" make weekly reports to Congress and the Commander in 
Chief of the officers and assistants of each denomination, and also the 
numbers of sick and deceased in their respective hospitals. 

Novemher 26^ 1776. 

Resolved, That the committee who are sent to the camp ])e directed 
to make particular enquiry into the abuses in the Medical Department 
in the Army, and report thereon to Congress. 

NovenJ}er 28, 1776. 

Resolved^ That Dr. Morgan take care of such sick and woiuided of 
the Army of the United States as are on the east side of Hudson's 
River, and that Dr. Shippen take care of such sick and wounded as are 
on the west side of Hudson's River; and that thej'^ both be directed to 
use the utmovst diligence in superintending the surgeons and mates of 
the Army, so that the sick and wounded may be effectually provided 
with everything necessary for their recover3^ 

NoveinljcT 29, 1776. 

Resolved. That the medical committee be directed to provide suffi- 
cient quantities of antiscorbutics for the use of the hospitals in the 
northern army; 

That the hospital at Fort George be continued for the reception of 
soldiers laboring with contagious diseases, and that there be a general 
hospital erected on Mount Independence; 

That a suitable spot of ground for a garden be enclosed in the neigh- 
borhood of the general hospital, to supi>ly the Army Avith vegetables, 



THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 369 

and that lal)ovcr.s be hired to cultivate it under the direction of an 
overs(»er. to be appointed b}" the general or comniandiiio- officer. 

That the general or connuanding officer in each of the armies cause 
strict enquiry to be made into the conduct of the directors of the hos- 
pitals and their surgeons, officers, and servants, and of the regimental 
surgeons, that if there had been an}^ just ground of complaints in 
those departments the ofl'enders ma}" be punished. 

That the colonel or commanding officer of every regiment make 
frequent enquiry into the health of the men under his command and 
report the state thereof, with any negligence, malpractice, or other 
misconduct of the surgeons or others, to the general and to Congress, 
delivering copies of such reports to all persons therein accused. 

Decemhei' i, T7'7G. 

Resolved^ . . . That the medical committee be directed to take 
such steps as they shall judge proper for the accommodation of the 
sick of the Army. 

December 12, 1776. — Owing to the approach of the enemy, the continental ai>othe- 
cary was directed to remove certain stores to a place of safety. 

Decmnher SO, 1776. 

Resolved, [That one wagon be allowed on a march] for the partic- 
ular use of the director of the hospital. Each wagon to be drawn by 
two horses . . . and subject to such orders as shall from time to 
time be issued by the general or commanding officer. 

January ,9, 1777. 

Resolved, That Dr. John Morgan, director-general, and Dr. Sanuiel 
Stringer, director of the hospital in the northern department of the 
Army of the United States, be, and they are hereby, dismissed from 
any further service in said offices. 

That the directors of the military hospitals throughout the Army, 
with the assistance of the hospital and regimental surgeons in each 
department, make returns to Congress as soon as possible of the kind 
and quantity of medicines, instruments, and hospital furniture that 
remain on hand. 

Jaiiaarij IJf, 1777. 

Resolved, . . . That the medical committee provide a suitable 
assortment of medicines and send them to the hospital in the northern 
army with all possible despatch, together Avith other necessaries for 
the sick. 

That Dr. Potts be directed to repair to Ticonderoga without delay. 

That Dr. Stringer be directed to deliver to Dr. Potts such medicines 
and other medical stores as may be in his hands belonging to the 
contin<nit. 

S. Doc. 229 24 



370 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

January '29^ 1777. 

Remlved^ That Dr. Mackenzie, who ha.s the care of the sick in the 
hospital in Baltimore, be empowered to appoint a mate to assist him. 

Fehraary .5, 1777. 

Resolved., That the medical committee be empowered to emploj^ a 
suitable person in each of the States to purchase such medicines as they 
shall direct, for the use of the army, which can be procured at any 
reasonable rates, 

April 7, 1777. 

Resolved^ That there be one director-general of all the military hos- 
pitals, which shall l)e elected for the Continental Army in the United 
States, who shall particularly superintend all the hospitals lietween 
Hudson's and Potomac rivers. 

That there be one deputy director-general, who, in the absence of 
the director-general, shall superintend the hospitals to the eastward of 
Hudson's River. 

That there be one deputy director-general, who, in the absence of the 
director-general, shall superintend the hospitals in the Northern 
Department. 

That when the circumstances of the war shall require it, there be 
one deput}^ director-general, who, in the absence of the director- 
general, shall superintend the hospitals in the Southern Department. 

That the director-general, or, in his absence, the deputy director- 
general in each respective department, be empowered and required, 
with the advice and consent of the commander in chief therein, to 
establish and regulate a sufficient number of hospitals at proper places 
for the reception of the sick and wounded of the Army; to provide 
medicines, instruments, dressings, bedding, and other necessary furni- 
ture, proper diet, and everything requisite for the sick and wounded 
soldiers and the officers of the hospitals; to pay the salaries and all 
other expenses of the same. 

That there be assistant deputy directors to superintend the hospitals 
committed to their care, and assist in providing the articles before 
specified, under the orders or control of the director or deputy director- 
general of the respective districts. 

That there be one apothecary -general for each district, whose duty 
it shall be to receive, prepare, and deliver medicines and other articles 
of his department to the hospitals and Army as shall be ordered by 
the director-general or deputy directors-general, respectively. 

That the apothecaries be allowed as many mat(\s as the director- 
general or respective deputy directors-general shall think necessary. 

That there be a commissary of the hospitals in each of the aforesaid 
districts, whose duty it shall ])e to procure, store, and deliver provi- 
sions, forage, and such other articles as the director-general shall 
judge necessary for the use of the hospitals, in the purchase of which 
he shall frequently consult with the Commissary and Quartermaster- 
General, and be regulated by the prices which they give. 

That the commissary be allowed such assistants and storekeepers as 
the director-general or deputy director-general of the district shall 
judge uccessary. 



THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 371 

Tliut a .steward be allowed for every hundred sick or wounded, who 
shall receive provisions from the commissary and distribute them 
ag"reeable to the orders of the director-oeneral, or physician, or 
surg'eon-general, and be accountable to the coumiissary for the same. 

That a matron l)e allowed to every hundred sick or wounded, who 
shall take care that the provisions are properly prepared; that the 
wards, beds, and utensils lie kept in neat order, and that the most 
exact economy be observed in her department. 

That a nurse be allowed for every ten sick or wounded, who shall 
be under the direction of the matron. 

That an hostler or stabler be allowed to each hospital, to receive the 
horses from the commissary, and to take care of the wagon and other 
horses belonging to the hospital, pursuant to orders from the director- 
general, or, in his absence, the deputy director-general, or such other 
officers as he shall appoint. 

That there be a clerk in each district, whose business it shall be to 
keep the accounts of the hospitals and to receive and deliver the monies 
agreeable to the orders of the director or deputy director-general. 

That a sufficient number of assistant clerks be allowed. 

That such officers and soldiers as the general shall order to guard 
the hospitals and to conduct such as shall be weekh^ discharged the 
hospitals to their respective regiments shall, while on this duty, obey 
the director or deputv director-general, or the physicians and surgeons- 
general. 

That the director and deputy directors-general be respectively 
empowered to appoint and discharge their assistant deputy directors, 
and other said officers and attendants of the hospitals, in such numbers 
as the necessities of the Army may require, and the commanders-in- 
chief of the department shall, in writing, approve, report of which to 
be immediately made to Congress, as hereafter directed. 

That there be also one physician and one surgeon-general in each 
district, to be appointed l)v Congress, whose duty it shall be, respec- 
tively, to superintend the practice of physic and surgery in all the 
hospitals of the district to which they shall be appointed, and in the 
absence of the director or deputy director-general they shall have 
power to order the physicians, surgeons, and other officers of the sev- 
eral hospitals to such duty as they shall think proper, and shall report 
weekly to the director-general, or, in his absence, to the assistant 
deputy director, the state and number of the sick and wounded in the 
hospitals, and the delinquent officers of the same, and see that such as 
may be lit shall be delivered every week to the officer of the guard, to 
be conducted to the Army. 

That there be allowed, also, senior physicians and surgeons, who 
shall attend, prescribe for, and operate upon, and see properly treated, 
such sick and wounded as shall be allowed them by the director- 
general, deputy director-general, or assistant director, or physician, or 
surgeon-general, the number for the district to be determined by the 
director or deputy director-general and appointed by the surgeon and 
physician-general. 

That there be also such a luimber of second surgeons as the director 
or deputy director-general for the district shall judge necessary to 
assist the senior surgeons, and be under the same direction, and to be 
appointed by the physician and surgeon-general as aforesaid. 

That there be also such a number of mates as the director-general or 



372 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

deputy director-general of the district shall direct, who shall assist the 
surgeons in the care of the wounded, and see that the medicines are 
properly and regularly administered, and appointed in the manner 
before directed for the senior and second surgeons. 

That a suitable number of covered and other wagons, litters, and 
other necessaries for removing the sick and wounded .shall be supplied 
by the quartermaster or deputy quartermaster-general, and in cases of 
their deficiency, by the director or deputy director-general. 

That there be one physician and surgeon-general for each separate 
army, who shall be subject to the orders and control of the director- 
general and deputy director-general of the district wherein he acts. 
That his duty shall l^e to superintend the regimental surgeons and 
their mates, and to see that they do their duty, to hear all complaints 
against the said regimental surgeons and mates, and make report of 
them to the director-general, or, in his absence, to the deputy director, 
or, in their absence from the said army, to the commanding officer 
thereof, that they may be brought to trial by court-martial for mis- 
behavior; to receive from the director-general or deputy director- 
general, a suitable number of large strong tents, beds, bedding, 
medicines, and hospital stores, for such sick and wounded as can not 
be removed to the general hospital with safety, or may be rendered tit 
for dut}' in a few days; and shall also see that the sick and wounded, 
while under his care, are properly attended, dressed, and conveyed, 
when able, to the general hospital, for which last purpose he shall be 
supplied by the director-general, or deputy director, with a proper 
number of convenient wagons and drivers. 

That each phj^sician and surgeon-general of the armies shall appoint 
such a number of surgeons, nurses, and orderly men as the director 
or deputy director-general shall judge necessary, for the more effectual 
care and relief of the sick and wounded, under the care of such phy- 
sician and surgeon-general, as provided in the last foregoing section; 
and the said physicians and surgeons-general shall have under them, in 
each army, a steward to receive and properly dispense such articles of 
diet as the director-general, or deputy director-general, shall give or 
order to be given him b}^ the commissary of the army or hospital. 

That whenever any j-egimental surgeon or mate shall be absent from 
his regiment without leave from the said surgeon-general, or the Com- 
mander in Chief of the Army where his duty lies, the said surgeon- 
general shall have power to remove such surgeon or mate, and forthwith 
to appoint another in his stead. 

That the director, deputy directors, physicians, and surgeons-general, 
and all other officers before enumerated shall be tried by a court- 
martial for any misbehavior or neglect of duty as the Commander in 
Chief of the several armies shall direct. 

That the physician and surgeon-general of each army shall cause 
dail}' returns to })e made to him of all the sick and wounded which 
have been removed to the hospitals, all that remain in the hospital 
tents, all that are become tit for duty, all that are convalescent, and all 
who may have died, specifying the particular maladies under which 
the sick and wounded labor. 

That the said physicians and surgeons-general shall cause weekly 
returns of the same to be made to the director or deputy director- 
general, respectively. 

That the Dh3'sicians and surgeon.s-general of the hospitals cause like 



The medical depaetment. 37S 

daily returns to be made in every hospital, and the like weekly returns 
to their respective directors, mutatis mutandis. 

That the deput}' directors-general cause the like returns to be made 
once every month to the director-general, together with the names 
and denominations of all the officers in the respective hospitals. 

And that the director-general shall make a like return for all the 
hospitals and armies of these United States once every month to the 
medical committee. 



AprU .9, 1777. 

Hesol'ved^ That in time of action and on any other emergency when 
the regimental surgeons are not sufficient in number to attend properly 
to the sick and wounded that can not be removed to the hospitals, the 
director or deputy director-general of the district be empowered and 
directed upon the request of the physician and Surgeon-General of 
the Army to send from the hospitals under his care to the assistance 
of such sick and wounded, as many physicians and surgeons as can 
possibly be spared from the necessary business of the hospitals. 

That the directors, deputy directors-general, assistant deputy direct- 
ors, physicians and surgeons-general be, and they are herel)v, required 
and directed to employ such parts of their time, as may conveniently 
be spared from the duties before pointed out to them, in vi>^iting and 
prescribing for the sick and wounded of the hospitals under their care. 

That the establishment of the Medical Department be as follows: 

Director-General 6 dollars a day and 9 rations. 

Deputy director-general 5 do. 6 do. 

Assistant deputy director 3 do. 6 do. 

Physician-general and surgeon-general, each 5 do. 6 do. 

t*hysiciau and Surgeon-General of the Army 5 do. 6 do. 

Senior surgeons, each 4 do. 6 do. 

Second surgeons, each 2 do. 4 do. 

Surgeons' mates, each 1 ^ d. do. 2 do. 

Apothecaries-general, each 3 do. 6 do. 

Do. mates, each 1^ d. do. 2 do. 

Commissary 2 do. 4 do. 

Clerk, who is to be paymaster 2 do. 4 do. 

Assistant clerks, each f ds. do. ] do. 

Stewards, each 1 do. 2 do. 

Matron \ do. 1 do. 

Nurses, each 24-90ths do. 1 do. 

Stabler 1 do. 1 do. 

Regimental surgeons 2 do. 4 do. 

Do. mates, each lid. do. 2 do. 

Ajjril 11^ 1777 . 

Congress then proceeded to the election of officers in the hospital 
department; and the ballots Ijeing taken, 

Dr. William Shippen, jr., was chosen, by the unanimous ballot of 
the thirteen States, director-general of all the military hospitals for the 
armies of the United States. 

Dr. Walter Jones, physician-general of the hospital in the Middle 
Department, 

Dr. B(>njamin Rush, surgeon-general of the hospital in the Middle 
Department. 

Dr. fJoliii Cochran, physician and surgeon-general of the army in 
the Middk? Department. 



374 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Dr. Isaac Forster, deputy director-general of the hospital in the 
Eastern Department. 

Dr. Ammi Ruhaniah Cutter, physician-oeneral of the hospital in the 
Eastern Department. 

Dr. Philip Turner, surgeon-general of ditto. 

Dr. William Burnet, physician and surgeon-general of the army in 
the Eastern Department. 

Dr. Jonathan Potts, deputy director-general of the hospital in the 
Northern Department. 

Dr. Malachi Treat, ph^^sician-general of ditto. 

Dr. Forgue, surgeon-general of ditto. 

Dr. John Bartlett, physician and surgeon-general of the ai'iuy in the 
Northern Department. 

Ajjril P2, 1777. 

Rei<olved, That the surgeons-general and physicians-general of the 
hospitals shall each of them regulate the practice of Iwth physic and 
surgery, and do the duty of physician and surgeon-general in the 
hospitals respectively committed to their charge, and that the director 
and deputy directors-general take proper care to keep the sick and 
wounded in separate departments. 

April m. 1777. 

Resolved., That the director and deputy directors-general shall con- 
stantly pu])lish in the newspapers the names of the places in which 
their military hospitals are respectively kept, and the several com- 
manding officers of parties, detachments, or corps, on their march to 
and from the camp, shall send to the said hospitals such of their officers 
and soldiers as from time to time are unable to proceed, together with 
certificates to the director or deputy director-general, mentioning the 
names of the said officers and soldiers and particular regiments to 
wliich they belong; unless, from the distance of the hospital or other 
(causes, it shall at any time be necessary to deliver them to the care of 
private physicians or surgeons, in which cases such physicians and 
surgeons, and also the respective commanding officers, are forthwith 
to report their names and regiments to the director or deputy directors- 
general as aforesaid, who shall give the necessary orders for removing 
them to the hospitals as soon as may be, and discharge the reasonable 
demands of the physicians and surgeons conducting, agreeable to this 
resolve. 

That the director and deputy directors-general and assistant deputy 
directors have power to order to their respecti\'e hospitals the sick 
and wounded of the Army, wherever found, in their own or other 
departments, provided such dei^artments are not supplied with any of 
the officers aforesaid. 

AjM-ll 25, 1777. 

Resolved.^ . . . That the physician or surgeon-general of the 
hospital in the middle department be directed to send a proper person 
or persons in the medical department to visit all the hospitals betwixt 
this city and the town of Annapolis, in Maryland, with directions to 
order all such soldiers as shall be deemed capable of service to join 
immediately their respective corps under proper officers. 



THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 375 

May U, 1777. 

Resolved ., . . . The commander in chief, and the commander in 
any separate department, shall be authorized to allow such quantities 
of forage, and for and during- such times as they shall think proper, 
to , . . the director-general of the hospital, his subs and surgeons- 
general, . . . ; provided, always, that if any of the otticers above 
mentioned, their deputies or assistants, should l)e allowed forage in 
conse(iuence of any general order hereafter given, and should, never- 
theless, not keep any or so many horses as they would bo permitted to 
draw forage for, in such case no forage shall be issued for more 
horses than they reall}' have, nor shall they at any time thereafter be 
allowed any forage as back allowance or any mone}^ in lieu thereof.- 

Jiaie 10, 1777. 

Resolved., . . . XXXVI. That all persons employed to pur- 
chase for the United States any articles in the several departments of 
the . . . director, . . . shall previously apply to them, or 
the principal officers under them, respectively, for certificates of the 
several prices by them allowed for such articles, and shall not, on any 
pretence whatsoever, exceed such prices. 

June 2S, 1777. — Dr. Walter Jones declined, June 20, appointment of physician- 
general. 

July 1, 1777. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a physician-general of the 
hospital in the middle department, in the room of Dr. Jones; and the 
l)alIots being taken, 

Dr. Benjamin Rush was elected. 

Juhj ?d, 1777. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a surgeon -general of the 
hospital of the middle department, in the room of Dr. Rush; and the 
ballots being taken. 

Dr. William Brown was elected, 

Augmt -9, 1777. 

The medical committee, to whom was referred the letter from Dr. 
W. Rickman, report ^' that as the establishment of the military hospital 
in Virginia, ])y a resolution of Congress of the 18th of May, 1776, is 
entirely distinct from and independent of the general establishment of 
hospitals in the other States, they are of opinion the same was not 
affected by the new regulations of the 7th of April last, and that Dr. 
Rickman still continues director of that hospital;" whereupon, 

Resolved., That Congress agree to the said report. 

Ordered., That a copy of the foregoing report and concurrence of 
Congress be sent to Dr. Shippen, and that he be directed to withdraw 
from Virginia such physicians, surgeons, or assistants as he may have 
sent thither. 



376 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OP GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Ancimt 30. 1777. 

Resolved^ That the several issuing- coiiiinissaries ho, directed to fur- 
nish the director-general, or any of the deputy directors, or their 
assistants, with such provisions as any of them shall, from time to 
time, demand })y an order in writing, for the use of any temporary 
hospital which shall be established, which order, with the receipt of 
the steward endorsed tnereon, shall be a sufficient voucher. 

September 16, 1777. — The director-general was ordered to remove to Bethlehem, Pa., 
or some other place of safety, the patients, or stores belonging to his department 
ordered to, or deposited in, Trenton, N. J. 

N^wemher 19, 1777. 

Resolved., . . . That the director-general of the hospitals be 
authorized to cause stoves to be erected in the different hospitals in 
case he shall think such a measure will conduce to make up for the 
present scarcity of blankets and clothing, or to the greater comfort of 
the sick; and that the wagons annexed to the hospital department be 
employed as much as possible in the transportation of fuel for the 
respective hospitals. 

Noremher ID, 1777. — The director-general of the military hospitals and his assistants 
were anthorized to call on the clothier-general for a proportionate share of blankets, 
shirts, shoes, and stockings for'the use of the sick and wounded. 

December 20, 1777. — Dr. Rickman (director of hospital at Alexandria) was suspended 
pending disposition of complaints charging him with neglect of duty. He was 
acquitted of the charges against him and ordered to resume his duties. October 21, 
1780, he was informed that, pursuant to his former request, he was left out in the 
new arrangement of the hospital department. 

January 6', 1778. 

Eesoli^ed., That the clothier-general ])o directed to deliver to the 
order of the director-general as much linen and as many l)lankets as 
can be spared, to be retained in the hospital for the use of the sick. 

* * * 

That a member of Congress be appointed to visit the hospitals in 
the middle department. The member chosen, Mr. Penn. 

* * * 

R('.^(jlved, That the sum of 10 dollars shall be paid l^y every officer, 
and the sum of four dollars by every soldier, who shall enter or be 
sent into any hospital to be cured of the venereal disease; which sums 
shall be deducted out of their pay, and an account thereof shall be 
transmitted by the physician or surgeon who shall have attended them 
to the regimental paymaster for that purpose; the money so arising 
to be paid to the director-general, or his order, to be appropriated to 
the purchasing blankets and shirts for the use of the sick soldiers in 
the hospital. 

January 30, 1778. — Dr. Rush's resignation was accepted. 

February 3, 1778. 

And whereas many persons employed ... in other civil 
departments are dispersed in various parts of the continent, over 



THK MEDICAL DEPAKTMJENT. 3*77 

whom neither Congress nor the head of their respective departments 
can have the immediate inspection. 

Het^olrcd, That it be recommended to the legislative and executive 
authority of every State to take effectual measures for preventing 
any person within their States from exercising any office in the civil 
department of the Arm}^, . . . under Congress, who shall not, 
when thereunto required b}^ any magistrate, produce a legal appoint- 
ment to such office, and a certificate of his having taken the foregoing 
oaths or affirmations, or who shall neglect or refuse to take and sub- 
scribe the said oaths or affirmations within the time above limited. 

February 6', 1778. 

For the better regulating the hospitals of the United States. 

Resolved., That there be a deputy director-general for the hospitals 
between Hudson's and Potomac rivers; and that the superintending 
care of the director-general be extended equally over the hospitals in 
every district, and that he be excused from the duty of providing sup- 
plies when the deputy director- general shall l)e ready to enter upon 
the office; 

That the several officers of the hospitals shall cease to exercise such 
of their former powers as are herein assigned to other officers thereof; 

That in the absence of the director-general from any district the 
physician-general and surgeon-general shall hereafter determine the 
number of hospitals to l)e provided by the deputy director-general for 
the sick and wounded, and shall superintend and control the afl'airs of 
such hospitals; 

That the director-general shall consult with the physician-general 
and surgeon-general in each district about the supplies necessary for 
the hospitals, and shall give orders in writing to the deputy director- 
general thereof to provide the same; and in the absence of the 
director-general the physician-general and surgeon-general shall issue 
such orders; 

That each deputy director-general shall appoint one or more of the 
assistant deputy directors under him to the sole business of providing 
beds, furniture, utensils, hospital clothing, and such like articles; and 
shall appoint one or more to provide medicines, instruments, dressings, 
herbs, and necessaries of a similar kind; 

That the director-general shall frequentlv visit the hospitals in each 
district and see that the regulations are carried into effect; shall exam- 
ine into the number and qualifications of the hospital officers, report 
to Congress an}^ abuses that may have taken place, and discharge the 
supernumerary officers, if there be any, that all unnecessary expense 
may be saved to the public; and when the director-general is in any 
particular district the physician-general and surgeon-general in that 
district shall not appoint any officers without his consent; 

That on the settlement of hospital accounts the officers entrusted 
with pul)lic money shall produce vouchers to prove the expenditure, 
and receipts from the proper officers of the hospitals, specifying the 
delivery of the stores and other articles purchased, and the apothe- 
caries, mates, stewards, matrons, and other officers receiving such 
stores and other articles shall be accountable for the same, and shall 
produce vouchers for the delivery thereof from such officers, and 
according to such forms as the physicians-general and surgeons-general 
have directed, or shall from time to time direct; which forms and 



378 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

directions the phj^sicians and .surgeons general shall report to the ])oard 
of treasurj"; 

That the director-o-eneral, or, in his absence from the district, the 
physician-general and surgeon-general, shall appoint a ward master for 
each hospital, to receive the arms, accoutrements, and clothing of each 
soldier admitted therein, keeping entries of and giving receipts for 
such articles which, on the recovery of the soldier, shall be returned to 
him, or, in case of his death, the arms and accoutrements shall be deliv- 
ered to the commissary or deputy commissary of military stores and 
receipts be taken for the same; and the ward master shall I'eceive and 
be accountable for the hospital clothing, and perfoi-m such other serv- 
ices as the physician-general or surgeon-general shall direct; 

That the jDhysician-general and surgeon-general shall hereafter make 
no returns to the deputy directors-general, but the returns shall be 
made by the said officers respectively to the director-general, who shall 
carefully transmit copies of each with his monthly return to Congress, 
and suspend such of the officers aforesaid as neglect this or any other 
part of their duty, and shall report their names to Congress; 

That the director and deputy directors-general forthwith prepare 
their accounts and adjust them with the commissioners of claims; 

That four dollars a day and the former allowance of rations be here- 
after allowed to each assistant deputy director and the commissary of 
the hospitals in each district; and one dollar a day and two rations to 
each ward master. 

Resolved^ That Dr. Potts be called from the northern district and 
appointed to act as deputy director-general in the middle district. 

Resolved, That the eldest assistant deput}^ director in the northern 
district shall execute the office of deputy director-general in the said 
district until the further orders of Congress; 

That the salaries of the hospital officers and debts contracted for the 
hospitals of the middle district to the time of Dr. Potts's entering upon 
the office of deputy director-general therein shall be adjusted and paid 
by the director-general, who shall deliver all the puV)lic stores in his 
possession to the deputy director-general or his order, taking dupli- 
cate receipts for the same and transmitting on(3 of each to the board of 
treasury; and the same rule shall be observed by Dr. Potts with respect 
to the salaries and debts of the hospital of the northern district and 
the public stores thereof, which are to be delivered to his successor in 
office in that district. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a physician-general in the 
middle district in the room of Dr. Rush, and the ballots being taken, 
Dr. William Brown was elected. 

February '21, 1778. 

Resolved, That a surgeon-general be appointed for the hospital in 
the middle department, in the room of Dr. Brown, promoted; the 
ballots being taken, 

Dr. Charles McKnight was elected. 

Whereas the duty of the person who executes the office of secretary 
and paymaster of the hospital in the middle department is important 
and difficult. 

Resolved, That the pay of the person who executes those offices in 
the hospital in the middle department be augmented to three dollars 
a day. 

March 9, 1778. — Dr. Ammi Ruhamali Cutter's resignation waa accepted. 



THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 379 

June 5, 177S. 



Rexoh)(d^ That the deputy director-general of the hospital in the 
eastern department shall, as heretofore, in the absence of the director- 
general, supervise the medical affairs of that department till the further 
order of Congress. 

AitguKt IJf, 1778. 

Remlved., That the resolution of Congress of the 9th of Juae last 
authorizing the deputy director-general of the hospital in the eastern 
department, in the absence of the director-general, to superintend the 
medical affairs of that department be, and it is hereby, repealed; and 
that the said hospital for the future l)e luider the same regulations as 
the hospitals in the other departments. 

Rewlved., That the director-general be directed to enquire into the 
state of the hospital in the eastern department, and give proper orders 
for the good government and economy thereof, and discharge unquali- 
tied and supernumerary otiicers, if any there be. 

October W, 1778. 

Whereas, b}- a resolution of Congress of April 22nd, 177T, it is pro- 
vided that the several conmiandiug officers of parties, detachments, or 
corps on their march to or from camp shall send to the military hos- 
pitals such of the officers and soldiers as, from time to time, are unable 
to proceed, unless from the distance of the hospitals or other causes it 
shall at any time be necessary to deliver them to the care of private 
physicians or surgeons, in which cases the deputs^ director-general 
shall discharge the reasonable demands of the ph3\sicians and surgeons 
conducting, agreeably to the said resolve. 

And whereas no provision is therein made for discharging the 
accounts of other persons who have been or may be employed by 
proper officers for taking care of and providing for such officers and 
soldiers; 

Resolvt'd.^ That the deputy directors-general, respectivel}^, be author- 
ized and instructed to discharge such of the said accounts as shall 
appear to be reasonal)le and just, provided that each person who may 
hereafter be employed to provide for officers and soldiers as aforesaid 
shall give earliest notice thereof to the deputy director-general, or the 
physician or surgeon-general of the district, in order for the speedy 
removal to the military hospitals. 

JSfovemher 2Ii,., 1778. 

Resolved., That all officers and persons employed on the staff shall 
receive for subsistence money one-third of a dollar for each extra 
ration heretofore allowed them. 

January 2o, 1779. 

Resolved, That the director-general of the medical department be 
authorized and instructed to enjoin the several deput}' directors, ph}"- 
sicians, and surgeons-general, and other officers under his superintend- 
ence to attend and perform such duties, at any post or place, as a 



380 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY- 

change of the position of the Army, or other circumstances, may, from 
time to time, make necessary, and shall ))e required by the Conmiander 
in Chief, notwithstanding such deputy director, physician, or surgeon 
is, by the general arrangement of the hospital, attached to a particular 
department; and that in case of any dispute concerning their seniority 
or precedence, the director-general shall determine the same in the 
first instance, the party supposing himself aggrieved being at liberty 
to appeal for redress to the medical committee. 

Hesolved^ That the director-general be authorized and instructed to 
supply, for the use of the regimental surgeons, such medicines and 
refreshments as may l)e proper for the relief of the sick and wounded 
before their removal to a general hospital, and to be dispensed under 
the care and at the discretion of the physician and Surgeon -General of 
the Army. 

March 10, 1779. — "Col. C. Hall is appointed to superintend the hospital at Bruns- 
wick an<l relieve Col. Beauford." {Orders, General Headqnartrrs, Mkldh- Brook.) 

March 16, 1779. 

Resolved, That all warrant officers on the civil staff ot the Army be 
put on the same footing with commissioned officers in respect to 
arrests, trials, and punishments. 

April 13, 1779. — "Lt. Col. Dabney is appointed to superintend the hospitals in 
Jersey." {Orders, General Headquarters, Middle-Brook.) 

May 11, 1779. 

Resolved, . . . That all staff officers who serve with the Army 
shall be allowed clothing on the same conditions as officers in the line, 
provided they engage for a ^^ear or longer. 

May 18, 1779. — "Major Stevenson is appointed to relieve Col. Dabney in the 
superintendency of the hospitals in New Jersey." {Orders, General Headquarters, 
Middle-Brook.) 

June 2, 1779. — "Lieutenant-Col. Simms, is appointed to superintend the hospitals in 
Pennsylvania." {Orders, Genercd Headquarters, Middle-Brook.) 

June 12, 1779. — Dr. John Morgan, director-general and chief physician of the 
general hospitals of the United States, was removed January 9, 1777, bj' reason of 
the geoieral complaints of persons of all ranks in the Army, but on the report of the 
medical committee to Congress August 9, 1777, that body resolved, June 12, 1779, 
"That Congress are satisfied with the conduct of Dr. John Morgan while acting as 
director-general and physician in chief in the general hospitals of the United States," 
and ordered the jiublication of the resolution. 

August 11, 1779. 

Resolved, That the half pay provided l)y the resolution of the 15th 
of May, 1778, be extended to continue for life; and that the holding 
of a civil office under the United States, or any of them, shall be no 
bar to prevent an}^ officer from receiving the same. 

August 18, 1779. 

Resolved, That until further order of Congress the said officers [of 
the Army] be entitled to receive monthly for their subsistence money 
the sums following, to wit: Each colonel, . . . 500 dollars; every 
lieutenant-colonel, 400 dollars; every major, . . . 300 dollars; 
every captain, 200 dollars; every lieutenant, ensign, and surgeon's mate, 
100 dollars. 



THE MPZDICAL DEPARTMENT. 381 

Rcsolrrd, That until tlio further order of Congress the sum of 10 
dollars he paid to every noncommissioned officer and soldier monthly 
for their subsistence in lieu of those articles of food originally intended 
for them and not furnished. 

Aiigu.sf 30, 1779. — "Lt. Col. Adam.s is appointed to superintend the liospitals in 
Pennsylvania and Jersey." {Ordcnf, General Headquarters, Moore\'i House.) 

October iB-i, ]779. — "Lieutenant Colonel Williams is appointed to superintend the 
hospital in Albany." {Orders, General Headquarters, Moore's House.) 

Octohe)\ 27, 1779. 

Hcsolved, That the director-general, each of the deputy directors- 
general, each physician and surgeon-general, each senior physician and 
surgeon, each junior surgeon, each apothecary-general . . . each 
apothecary's assistant in the hospital of the United States shall be 
entitled to draw clothing annually from the stores of the clothier- 
general in the same manner and under the same regulations as are 
established for officers of the line by a resolution of the 26th day of 
November, 1777. 

Resolved, That until the further order of Congress the said officers 
of the military hospital shall also be entitled to subsistence in like 
manner as is granted to officers of the line, to be estimated in the fol- 
lowing ratio: 

1st. The director-general to receive the same subsistence as a colonel 
in the line. 

2d, The deputy directors-general, the physicians, surgeons, and 
apothecaries general, the same as lieutenant-colonels. 

3d. The senior physicians and surgeons, the same as majors. 

The jtinior surgeons and apothecaries' assistants, the same as cap- 
tains, . . . and to commence from the said 18th day of August. 

Resolved, That the mates of the military hospital shall, during 
service, be entitled to the same subsistence as is given to regimental 
surgeons' mates b}" the resolution of the 18th day of August last. 

October 38, 1779. — Resolution of October 27, relative to Medical Department recon- 
sidered and recommitted to the Medical Committee. 

Novemher W, 1779. 

Resolved, That the director-general, deputy directors-general, the 
assistant deputy directors, the physicians and surgeons-general of the 
hospitals and Army, the senior surgeons, the second or junior sur- 
geons, the apothecaries-general and apothecaries' mates or assistants, 
the hospital chaplains, regimental surgeons and mates, mates of the 
military hospitals, commissaries, assistant commissaries, paymasters 
and stewards of the hospital who shall have been in the service for the 
space of one year, and are at present emplo3^ed in the same, shall each 
be entitled annually to draw clothing from the stores of the clothier- 
general in the same manner and under the same regulations as are 
established for officers of the line by a resolution of Congress on the 
26th day of November, 1777. 

Resolved, That until the further order of Congress the following 
officers of the military hospital shall be entitled to subsistence in like 
manner as is granted to officers of the line by a resolution of the 18th 
day of Augusc last, and iu the following proportions, viz: Each deputy 



382 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENEEAL STAFF OF U. S. AKMY. 

director-g-eneral, 500 dollars per month; each assistant deputy director, 
400 dollars; each physician-j^eneral and surgeon-g-eneral, 500 dollars; 
each physician and surgeon-general, 500 dollars; each senior surgeon, 
400 dollars; each junior surgeon, 300 dollars; each apothecarj'-general, 
400 dollars; each apothecary's assistant or mate, 100 dollars; each com- 
missary, 300 dollars; each commissary's assistant, 200 dollars; each 
clerk, who is to be paymaster, 200 dollars; each steward, 100 dol- 
lars; . . . 

The same to commence from the 18th day of August last. 

Resolved, That all mates necessarily employed in the military hospi- 
tal or Army shall, during service, be entitled to the same subsistence as 
is given to regimental mates, viz, 100 dollars per month. 

November 22, 1779. — The medical committee was instructed to revise the several 
resolutions relating to the hospital department, digest and arrange them with such 
amendments as will make the whole consistent and conformable to the alterations 
made by Congress in the original system. 

November 22, 1779. — "Major Cochrane, of the New York troops, is appointed to 
relieve Lieutenant-Colonel Williams, superintending the hospital at Albany." 
{Orders, General Headquarters, Moor e^ s House.) 

November 26, 1779. 

Resolved, That the returns for clothing for officers in the medical 
staff (regimental surgeons and their mates, who are to draw with the 
regimental staff", excepted) be signed by the director-general or the 
physician-general and surgeon-general of the district, and such clothing 
shall be delivered either by the clothier-general, or any subclothier in 
the State in which the officer to receive clothing shall reside, as is pro- 
vided in the cases of other staff officers not taken from the line. 

December 8, 1779. — "Doctor Latimer [is] appointed a senior surgeon in the flying 
hospital." [Orders, General Headquarters, Morristoum.) 

December 24, 1779. — "The honorable the Board of War, having procured a small 
supply of shirts and linen and directed the distribution of them among the officers 
of the . . . staff, who are not adopted by any State: The clothier-general is to 
deliver them upon returns signed by the . . . heads of the following corps and 
departments at the rate directed by a resolution of Congress of the 25th of November 
last, . . . surgeons of the general and flying hospital . .' ." {Orders, General 
Headquarters, Morristown. ) 

January 27, 1780. 

Resolved, . . . That the issuing commissaries be respectively 
directed not to deliver rations or parts of rations to any hospital com- 
missary, unless on returns signed by him and countersigned by the 
principal physician or surgeon of the respective hospitals, specifying 
the names and stations of the persons for whom, and for what time, 
the rations are drawn, and that the hospital commissary be also required 
to annex to each ration the receipts of the ]iorsons to whom he shall 
have delivered the provisions drawn on the last return. 

Fihruaru 2f), 17 HO. 

Resolved, That Doctor David Oliphant, director-general of the hos- 
pitals in the State of South Carolina, be, and he is hereby, directed to 
make monthly returns to the medical conmiittee, agreeable to the reso- 
lutions of Congress of the 7th of April, 1770, and that he cause a 
duplicate thereof to be delivered monthly to the commanding officer, 



THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 383 

for the tinio bcino', of the southern army, luid that the director-g-eneral 
of the hospitals to the Army of the United States be furnished with a 
copy of this resolution. 

March 23, 1780. — "A subaltern officer from Genl. Hand's brigade is to be sent to 
Phukemin to-morrow to superintend the hospital there in place of Lieut. Leonard." 
( Orders, General Headquarters, Morristoum. ) 

ITmj 23, 17S0. 

Resolved., That the director-general, or in his absence, deputy 
director-general, of the hospitals in the eastern district, be, and he is 
hereby, directed to have a suitable house at or near the post of New 
London, in the State of Connecticut, for the reception of such sick 
American prisoners as shall from time to time be exchanged and 
landed in that neighl)orhood, and that one senior surgeon or phj^sician 
and a suitable number of mates be occasionally employed therein, as 
the number of sick shall increase or diminish. 

June m, 1780. 

Whereas it is represented by the medical committee that difficulties 
arise in the hospital department from the arrest of the director-general, 

Resolved, therefore. That the medical committee be, and are hereby, 
authorized to take proper m.easures for carrying on the business of the 
said department, and that all medical gentlemen and others attached to 
the said department pay obedience to the orders of the said committee. 

June 26, 1780. — Dr. William Shippen, jr., was charged, June 15, 1779, with mal- 
practice and misconduct in ofhce. He was tried, but acquitted, and restored to his 
position as director-general October 6, 1780. 

Julij 6, 1780. — "Doctor Hagan, senior surgeon in the general hospital, is appointed 
to do duty in that capacity in the flying hospital." {Orders, General Headquarters, 
Pracaties.'i.) 

July 14, 1780. — "Colonel Spencer is appointed to superintend the hospitals in Jer- 
sey." [Orders, General Headquarters, Fracaness.) 

,Tuhi 21, 1780. Congress accepted the resignation of Dr. W. Brown, physician- 
general. 

August m, 1780. 

Whereas it is of the utmost importance effectually to prevent the 
destruction, waste, embezzlement, and misapplication of the public 
stores . , . upon which the existence of the armies of these United 
States may depend, and no adequate provision hath been made for the 
just punishment of delinquents in the departments of the . . . 
purveyor of the hospitals, . . . therefore, 

Resolred, That every person in any of the said departments intrusted 
with the care of provisions or military or hospital stores, or other 
property of these United States, who shall be convicted at a general 
court-martial of having sold, without a proper order for that purpose, 
embezzled, or willfully misapplied, damaged, or spoiled, any of the 
provisions, horses, forage, arms, clothing, ammunition, or other mili- 
tary or hospital stores, or property belonging to the United States of 
America, shall suffer death or such other punishment as shall be 
directed by a general court-martial, according to the nature and degree 
of the offense, at the discretion of such court; and every person in 
any of the said departments, intrusted as aforesaid, who shall be con- 



384 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

vic'ted ;it a general court-martial of having through neglect sutl'ered 
any ol" the articles aforesaid to be wasted, spoiled, or damaged, shall 
surt'er such punishment as the said court shall in their discretion direct, 
according to the degree of the oti'ense, 

Heptciiihcr oO^ 1780. 

Whereas the late regulations for conducting the affairs of the gen- 
eral hospital are in many respects defective, and it is necessary that 
the same be revised and amended in order that the sick and wounded 
may be properly provided for and attended, and the business of the 
hospitals conducted with regularity and economy: Therefore, 

Memlved^ That there be one director of the military hospitals, who 
shall have the general direction and superintendence of all the hospi- 
tals to the northward of North Carolina; that within the aforesaid 
limits there be three chief hospital physicians, who shall also be sur- 
geons; one chief physician,' who shall also be a surgeon, to each sepa- 
rate army; fifteen hospital phj^sicians, who shall also be surgeons; 
twenty surgeons' mates for the hospitals; one purveyor, with one 
assistant; one apothecary; one assistant apothecary; and to each hos- 
pital, a steward, matron, orderly men, and nurses, as heretofore. 

That the director, or, in his absence, one of the chief hospital phy- 
sicians, be empowered and required, with the advice and consent of the 
commander in chief, or commander of a separate army, to establish 
and regulate such a number of hospitals, at proper places, for the 
reception of the sick and wounded of the army, as may be found 
necessary. 

That the director be authorized and instructed to enjoin the several 
chief hospital phj^sicians, and other officers of the hospitals under his 
superintendence, to attend at such posts or stations as he may judge 
proper, and also to attend and perform such duties at any post or 
place as a change of the position of the army or other circumstances 
may from time to time make necessary and shall be required by the 
Commander in Chief; and that in case of any dispute concerning their 
seniority or precedence, the director shall determine the same in the 
first instance, the party supposing himself aggrieved being at liberty 
to appeal for redress to the medical committee. 

That in time of action, and on any other emergency, when the regi- 
mental surgeons are not sufficient in number to attend pro]3erly to the 
sick and wounded that can not be removed to the hospitals, the director, 
or, in his absence, the nearest chief hospital physician, be empowered 
and required, upon request of the chief physician and surgeon of the 
Army, to send from the hospitals under his care, to the assistance of 
such sick and wounded, as many surgeons as can possibly be spared 
from the necessary business of the hospitals. 

That the director, or, in his absence, two of the chief hospital phj^si- 
cians, shall make out and deliver, from time to time, to the purveyor, 
proper estimates of hospital stores, medicines, instruments, dressings, 
and .such other articles as may be judged necessary for the use of the 
hospitals; also diroct the apothecary or his assistant to prepare and 
deliver medicines, instruments, dressings, and other articles in his pos- 
session to the hospitals and surgeons of the Army and Navy as he or 
they may judge necessary. 

That the director authorize and instruct the purveyor and apothe- 



THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 385 

cary to .supply, for the use of the regimental surg-eons, such medicines 
and refreshments as may be pi'oper for the relief of the sick and 
wounded before their removal to a general hospital, and to be dis- 
pensed under the care and at the direction of the chief phj^sician of the 
Arm3\ 

That the director, or, in his absence, the chief hospital ph^'sicians, 
respectively, be empowered occasionally to employ second mates when 
the num])er of the sick shall increase so as to make it necessary, and 
to discharge them as soon as the circumstances of the sick will admit. 
'That the director, or, in his absence, the chief hospital ph3sicians, 
respectively, shall appoint a ward master for each hospital to receive 
the spare regimental arms, accoutrements, and clothing of each soldier 
admitted therein, keeping entries of and giving receipts for ever}" article 
received, which, when the soldiers shall be discharged, shall be ac- 
counted for by the said ward master with the commanding officer of 
the regiment to which such soldier belonged or the officer directed to 
take charge of the convalescents from the said hospital; or, in case of 
the death of the soldier, shall be accounted for with and delivered to 
the quartermaster of the regiment to which the said soldier belonged; 
and the ward master shall receive and be accountable for the hospital 
clothing and perform such other services as the chief hospital physician 
shall direct. 

That the director shall make returns of all the sick and wounded in 
the hospitals once every month to the medical committee, together with 
the names and ranks of all the officers and others employed in the sev- 
eral hospitals. 

That the director be required to employ such part of his time as may 
be spared from the duties before pointed out to him in visiting and 
prescribing for the sick and wounded of the hospitals, and that he pay 
particular attention to the conduct of the several officers in the hospital ■ 
department, and arrest, suspend, and bring to trial all delinquents 
within the same. 

That the duty of the chief hospital physicians shall be to do and 
perform all the duties hereinbefore enjoined them to do in the absence 
of the director; to receive and obe}" the orders of the director made 
and delivered to them in writing; to superintend the practice of physic 
and surger}' in the hospitals put under their particular care by the 
director, or which, by order of the Commander in Chief or the com- 
mander gf a separate army, may be by them esta1)lished; to see that 
the hospital physicians and other officers attending the same do their 
duty; and make monthly returns to the director of the state and num- 
ber of the sick and wounded in the hospitals under their care: and 
also make returns to the director and to the medical committee of all 
delinquent officers in order that they ma}' be speedily removed or pun- 
ished; and to take measures that all such sick and wounded as are 
recovered and fit for dut}' be delivered weekh^ to the officer of the 
guard to be conducted to the Arm}'; when present at any hospital to 
issue orders to the proper officers for supplying them with necessaries; 
and generally, in the absence of the director, to superintend and 
control tlie ])usiness of such hospitals, suspend delinquent and remove 
unnecessary nonconunissioned officers making report to the director; 
and when in their power to attend and perform or direct all capital 
operations. 

That the hospital physicians shall take churgt' of sucli particular 

S. Doc. 2'2\^ 25 



386 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

hospitals as may be assigned them by the director. They shall obey 
the orders of the director, or in his absence of the chief hospital 
physician. They shall have power to suspend officers under them, and 
to contine other persons in tlie hospitals serving" under their charge for 
negligence or ill l)chavior until the matter be regularly inquired into. 
They shall diligently attend to the cases of the sick and wounded of the 
hospitals under their care, administering at all times proper relief, as 
far as may be in their power. They shall, respectively, give orders, 
under their hands, to the assistant purveyor or steward at the hospital, 
for the issuing provisions and stores, as well as for the procuring any 
other small articles that the exigencies of the hospital may require and 
which the store is not provided with, having always a strict regard to 
economy, as well as the welfare of the sick then to be provided for. 
They shall make weekly returns to the nearest chief hospital physician 
of the state of the hospitals under their respective care. 

The mates shall each take charge of and attend the patients assigned 
them, and perform such other duties as shall be directed by the director, 
chief, or other physicians and surgeons. 

The chief physician and surgeon of the Army shall be subject to the 
orders and control of the director. His duty shall be to superintend 
the regimental surgeons and their mates, to see that they do their duty; 
to hear all complaints against the said regimental surgeons and mates, 
and make report of them to the director, or in his absence to the 
Commander in Chief or conmianding officer of a separate army, that 
they may be brought to trial l)y court-martial for misbehavior; to 
draw for and receive from the purveyor a suitable number of large, 
strong tents, beds, bedding, and hospital stores, and from the apothe- 
car}^ or his assistant proper medicines for such sick and woiuided per- 
sons as cannot be removed to the general hospital with safety or ma}'" 
be rendered fit for duty in a short time. He shall also see that the 
sick and wounded while luider his care are properly attended and 
provided for, and conveyed, when lit to ))e removed, to the general 
hospital, for which last piu'pose he shall be supplied by the Quarter- 
master-General with a proper number of convenient wagons and drivers. 
He shall have a steward, whom he is to appoint, to receive andproperh" 
dispense such articles of diet and refreshments as shall be procured for 
the sick, and also shall appoint such a number of nurses and orderly 
men as may be necessary for the attendance ef the sick and wounded 
under his care. He shall cause daily returns to be made to hiln of all 
the sick and wounded which have been removed to the hospitals, all 
that remain in the hospital tents, all that are become lit for duty, 
all that are convalescent, and all who may have died, specifying the 
particular maladies under which the sick and wounded labor, and shall 
make a monthly retui'n thereof to the director, who shall add it to his 
general hospital returns to be transmitted monthly to the medical 
committee. 

That whenever any regimental surgeon or mate shall hv absent from 
his regiment without leave from the chief physician and surgeon or 
commander of the army where his duty lies the said chief physician 
and surgeon shall have power to remove such surgeon or mate and 
forthwith appoint another in his stead. 

That the pur^■eyor provide or cause to be provided all liospital 
stores, medicines, instruments, di-essings, utensils, and such other 
articles as shall be prescribed by the Avritten order of the director or 



THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 387 

two of the c-bief hospital physicians, and deliver or cause the same to 
be delivered, upon written orders, under the hand of the director, 
chief hospital physician, or one of the hospital physicians havini^ the 
charge of a particular hospital or of the chief physician and surgeon 
of the Army, which, with receipts thereon for delivery of the same, 
shall be his sufficient vouchers. He shall be allowed a clerk and as 
many storekeepers as occasion may require and the director shall 
approve of. He shall also pay the salaries of the officers and all other 
expenses of the hospitals. He shall render his accounts every three 
months to the board of treasury for settlement, and make application 
for money to the medical committee, before whom he shall lay esti- 
mates of articles necessary, which shall previously have been approved 
and signed b}" the director or two of the chief hospital physicians. At 
the same time he shall render to them an account of the expenditure 
of the last sum of money advanced to him; and the said medical com- 
mittee shall la}^ such estimates before Congress with their opinion 
thereon. 

That the assistant purve^^or shall procure such supplies and do and 
perform such parts of the purveyor's duty as b}^ him shall be particu- 
larly assigned to him. 

That the apothecary and his assistants receive, prepare, and deliver 
medicines, instruments, and dressings, and such other articles of his 
department to the hospitals and Army on orders in writing from the 
director, or either of the chief hospital physicians, or chief physician 
or surgeon of the Army; and that he be allowed as many mates as 
occasion may require and the director shall approve of. 

That the director, or in his absence the chief hospital physician, 
shall appoint a steward for each hospital, whose duty it shall be to 
purchase vegetables and other small articles, under the direction of the 
purveyor, and to receive hospital stores from the purveyor and provi- 
sions from the Commissary-General and issue the same for the use of 
the sick and wounded agreeably to the order of the physician and sur- 
geon attending such hospital, the steward to account with the purveyor 
for all such issues. 

That the director, or in his absence the chief hospital physician, 
appoint a proper number of matrons, nurses, and others necessary for 
the regular management of the hospitals and tix and ascertain their 
pay, not exceeding the sums heretofore allowed, and point out and 
prescribe their particular duties and employments in writing, which 
they are enjoini^d to observe and obe}". 

That the director, with two chief hospital physicians, be empowered 
to fix the pay of second mates and of such clerks, storekeepers, and 
other persons as may occasionally be employed, and also make such 
I'cgulations and point out and enjoin in writing such further particular 
duties for the several officers of the hospital department as they may 
judge necessary for the regular management of the same, which duties 
shall always be consistent with, and in no wise contradictory to, any 
of the duties hereinbefore particularly enumerated, and which, being 
reported to and a]3pT'ovod of l)y the medical committee, shall thereupon 
become o])ligatory to all those concerned. 

That the (Quartermaster-General furnish the hospital department 
from time to time, as occasion may require, with such a number of 
hoi-ses and wagons as may be necessary for removing the sick and 
wounded and for transporting the hospital stores, but that no other 



8SS i.i\;isi,A nvv msrouv ov ^;ini:km, st\fi' ov v. s. akmy. 

lu>rsos th:in lho>o In^lonui'Vii' l^* '!'»' otHror> ot" \\\o dtnvjiiuuMit. tor 
wliioh fiU'Mi^o iua\ l>o horoin ullowoil. l>o kcyt ^o\\\v:\\A\ :iiul .-it tho 
oxivnso of (ho lioivnliiUMU. 

That no poi>ioi\ ooiu'ornod in tnulo on lu^ own ;u\onnt shall l>o snf- 
foivd lo not us ;\n otUoor in tho liospital or Modionl nopnitnuMit o{ (ho 
Arniv. 

riiat no olliv'or oi' olluM- {UM'son in (ho hv>spi(:il dt^p:u(nu>n(. oxivyX 
tho j^iok :uui wonnilod. i>o j>orn\i((od to uso :»ny of tho s(oros pro\ idod 
for I ho si ok. 

That tho dirootor, ohiof hospital phvsioians, and (hoohiof physioians 
atui j^iirjivons of tho Army, physioiansand surjioons. purvoyor, apodio- 
oarv. assistant purvoyor. and assistant apt>(hooary, l>o appoin(od and 
i"onu\ussionod l>v Cono-ross. (ho ro«:inuM)(al surovons ana nia(os (o bo 
appointod as horotoforo. 

That tho dirootor. \\i(h (ho advioo and oonourronoo of (wo of (ho 
ohiof hospi(al physitMans. appiMi\( all hospi(al n»a(os. whioh appoint- 
nion(s shall l>o oortitiod l\v \varr:»n(s undor tho hand of tho dirootor; in 
whioh apixMutuionts no ponsoix shall l>o admit lod undor tho aoo of 
t w onty -ouo voai*s. 

That all tlio ol^ioors in tho hospital or modioal dopartmont shall l>o 
suhjootod to trial by oourts-inartial for all oltonoos in tho sauio mannor 
as; ofliooi's in tho lino of tho Army. 

/»\.v«)/?vy/. That tho j\ay and ostablishmont of tho otiiooiN of (ho hos- 
]Mtal do[^:u't^uont and modioal stall bo as follows: 

Oirootor. loO dollars ^vr month. -2 n\(ions for himsolf. and ono for 
his vsorvant. por day, and fonisio for two hoi*sos. 

Chiof physioians and surovons of tho Army and hospitals, oaoh 140 
dollars por month. 2 nitions jw da\% and fon^iro fv>r two liorsess. 

Purvoyor ami a^x^thooary. oaoh loO dollars por month. 

rhysioians and suriroons of tho htvspitals. oacMi 120 dollai"^ poi month. 
1 i^jition por day. anci fora^o for ono hoi*so. 

Assistant purvoyoi^^ and apothooarios. oaoh 7i> doUaix [hh- month. 

Uoo-imotU.al surovons, oaoh (v> dollars ^xm- month. 1 ration por day. 
atul fon»iiv for ono horso. 

8urijx>on's mate^ in the hivspitjils, M> dollai^ por nu>nth. 1 i-a(ion |xn- 
day. ^ 

Sui'jyoon's mates in tho Army. 4vt dt>llai*s yxn* nu>nth. 1 i^ition |xm' day. 

8tow~?ii\l for oach luvspital, t>.^ dollars |xm' month. I nition \xn' day. 

Ward master for oaoh hospital. :>^ dollai*s por month. I ration ^xm- 
day. 

7»*<^*W> That nono of tho af ore^ud offioors or any ^xm sons omyiloyod 
in any of tlio hospitals bo ontitkxl to rations, or pivvision. or fora^jv 
w hon on furlouji'h. 

7»\w»/^VYf, That tho ohiof physioian of tho Army Ix^ allow od a two- 
hoi^o covonxl w-ao-on for tr!\nsiK>rtinof his l>!io-o>aiiV. 

That tho sovonil othix^rs alx>vo montionod sliall roooivo thoir jv\y in 
tho now ourivnoy, omitted pui^iJuant to a ivsolutionof Cotijrross on the 
I8th day of Maroh last: and that thoy Ix^ allow<>d and yviid^it tho rate 
of ttve i^t^llai^ of sjiid ounvnoy nor (uontli for evorv ivtaii\od ration: 
and shall oaoh Ix^ entitled annually to draw olothino- I'ixmu the ston>sof 
the elothior-iivtioral. in tho san\o maimer and undor tho same ivirula- 
tions as are ost.ablishtxl for othoors in the line, by a ivsolution of Con- 
liross of the iV^th of Novotulx^r. 17T5>. 

rhat the rxnurns for olothitio- for otliwrs in the nuxlic>;d stjvff (reiri- 
montjil sursi\H>ns and their mates, who are to draw with the ivgimontal 



'I'JIK MKDirAI. DKI'Ml'IMKNT. 389 

HtafT, o.X('('pt<H\) 1)0 Hij^nc/I l)V the flirccior or oti" of fhc chiff hoHpital 
[)hysi<M;uis; jind siicli <-|(jllii(i<r sIkiII Ix; fldiv^'i-cfl ciliKT bv tin-, dotniiir- 
^•(•iiciiil or any siibdolliicr in Un'. Slate, in vvliicli the oiWccv to vcccjva 
clolliinj^' shall j'csiflc, in flic same, jnanncr as is [)ro\ i'l<'l in tin; casoH of 
oliicr slair ofliccrs not taken I'loni flu; line. 

Tliiit the, several oflicers whose pay is (!staf)lished as al)OV'e (except 
tfie Ktevv;u'(ls and svar<l niasUa's) shall at th(i (!tid of tli(! war he entitled 
tojicei'tain {)i'ovision of land, in tfie pi'oportion followin^^, viz: 

TIk; dii-ec,tor to have tli(5 sarrni quantity an a hj"i^adier-«(enei'al. 

(Jliief physician and purve.yor, the saine an a colonel. 

Physicians and siir}.n;r>Ms and af)othecary, the same as m lieutenant- 
colonel. 

Kee-irM(!nlal sui'^<!ons and assistants to t lie jjiiiveyoi' and apot Ix-cary, 
the same as a majoi". 

Hospital and reeimf;rital suit^eon's mates, the same as a captain. 

Tliat the formei' anant^enKuits oi t\nt hospital depai'tment, and all 
n^soliitions hcirelofore passed touching the same, so far a.s th(!y are 
inconsistent with tin; for(;jroin<(, he repoahid, exccptinj^ that the hospi- 
tals in the SoutheiTi Depai'tment, from North Carolina to (ieorg'ia, 
inclusive, ))e, continued nnd<;i' th(; same re<fidations as hei'etofoj-(;, until 
the I'urtlK.'r order of (Jon^-ress. 

Or/.oUr C, IJHO. 

('onj^ross pi'oc(!eded to tin; (dection of oflicers in t lie Ilo-pital l)epiirt- 
ment, and. the ballots Ixdn^ taken, 

l)o(;tor William Shippcn, jr., was elected di)(;cto)-^(;n(;ial; 

Doctor John (Jochran, chief physician and surgeon o^' the Ai-my; 

Dr. .Iani(;.s (Jr-aik, 

Docto!" Malachi Ti-eat, 

Doctor (Jhai'his McK nioht, chief hospital jjhysicians. 

Odohrr 7. I'JHO. 

Congress proceeded to the election of ofiiceis in the IIos])ital Dei)ai't- 
MH^nt, and, tlu^ ballots Ix^ing taken, 
Thomas liond, jr., wa.s elected pui'veyoi-; 
Isaac; Lcidyard, assistant purveyor; 
Doctor Ari(lr(iW Craigie, apoth(!carv; 
William Johonot, assistant a})otli(!cary; 
Doctoj's dairies 'I'ilton, 

.Samu(d vVdams, 

Davis Townsh(!nd, 

Henry Latimer, 

I'lancis I lagan, 

I'liilip Tur'ner, 

Williarir JJui'rK^t,^ 

John Warn^n, 

Moses Scott, 

David Jackson, 

liodo Otto, 

Moses l>loonifield, 

William Kusti.s, 

(i(H)r*ge Di'aper, 

Barnabas Binne}^ hospital physicians and surgeons. 



390 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF V. S. ARMY. 

October 7, 1780. — Dr. Mattliew Mau?* was appointeil snriieon to tlie regiment of inva- 
lids, and Col. Nicola was autliorizetl to appoint a proper surgeon's mate to the regi- 
ment when the number of sick shall make it necessary. 

October ).^<y, 17S0. 

Jiesoli'ed, That the director of the hospitals, the chief physicians and 
surgeons of the hospitals and the Army, and the other physicians and 
surgeons of the hospitals, and also the purveyor, apothecary, and their 
respective assistants, and the stewards, do severally take the oaths or 
aliirmations directed by a resolution of Congress of February 3d, 1778, 
and deposit duplicate certiticates of taking the same with the medical 
committee as soon as possil^le; that the said officers, respectively, be 
subject to the pains and penalties mentioned in the resolution of the 
al)ove date for neglecting to take the said oaths or affirmations; and 
that the director of the hospitals take measures for carrNing this reso- 
lution into immediate efl'ect. 

November 24, 1780. — Dr. Shippen was directed to repair to headcjuarters and put 
himself under the orders of the Commander in Chief; his resignation was accepted 
January 8, 1781. 

December 7, 1780. — Dr. John Warren accepted office of hospital physician. 

Dece inlet' IK 1780. 

Ordered, That the purve3'or and apothecary be directed to issue 
medicines and refreshments necessary for the transient sick which 
may be from time to time under the care of Doctor Maus, as is done 
in the general hospital, he making returns of such sick in the manner 
directed in the hospital regulations to the director and signing receipts 
for such stores as are issued to him. 

Ordered, That Doctor Maus report to the connnanding officer at the 
barracks such officers as are appointed to act under him as surgeons 
to the transient sick, in case of misdemeanor, in order that the}" may 
be tried for misconduct or neglect of duty ]\v a garrison court-martial. 

Decemben- 13, 1780. — Congress accepted the resignations of Drs. Bloom field and Scott, 
two hospital physicians. 

December 31, 1780. — "A field officer from the Pennsylvania line to relieve Col. 
Spencer in the superintendency of the hospitals in New Jersey. He will receive the 
standing instructions from Col. Spencer." {Oi'ders, General Headquarters, [)w place 
given.'] ) 

Januiiry 17, 1781. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a director of the military hos- 
pital, and. the ballots being taken. 

Dr. John Cochran was elected, having been previously nominated 

b\' Mr. Varnum. 

* * * 

Whereas by the plan for conducting the Hospital Department passed 
in Congress the 30th day of September last no proper establishment 
is provided for the officers of the medical statf after their dismission 
from public service, which, considering the custom of other nations 
and the late provision made for the officers of the Army after the con- 
clusion of the war, they appear to have a just claim to, for remedy 
whereof, and also for amending several parts of the above-mentioned 
plan: 

Resolved, That all officers in the Hospital Department and medical 



THE MEDICAL DEPARTMEISIT. 391 

staff horoinaftor niontionod who shall continue in service to the end 
of the war or l)c reduced before that time as supernumeraries shall be 
entitled to and receive during life, in lieu of half pay, the following 
allowances, viz: 

The director of the hospital, equal to the half pay of a lieutenant- 
colonel; 

Chief physicians and surgeons of the Army and hospital and hospital 
physicians and surgeons, purveyor, apothecary, and regimental sur- 
geons, each equal to the half pay of a captain; 

That there be allowed to the purveyor, apothecarv, and assistant 
purveyor each forage for one horse; 

That the power given in the before-mentioned plan to the chief 
physician and surgeon of the Arm}' to remove regimental surgeons 
and mates in case of absence without leave shall in future extend no 
further than a power of suspension until such delinquent shall be 
reported to a proper officer for bringing him to trial by court-martial; 

That the apothecary may deliver medicines, instruments, and dress- 
ings, and other articles of his department to the hospitals on orders 
in writing from a physician and surgeon having the care of any par- 
ticular hospital where the director or one of the chief physicians and 
surgeons shall not be present to give the same; 

That the power given to the director and chief hospital physicians 
with respect to the appointment of matrons, nurses, and other persons 
necessary for the regular management of the hospitals be extended to 
each of the physicians and surgeons of the hospitals in the absence of 
the director and chief physicians and surgeons. 

Fehruary i, 1781. 

Resolved, That the purveyor of the hospital be, and hereby is, 
empowered and directed to collect, or cause to be collected, and si'cured 
under his care until properly issued, all public hospital stores and medi- 
cines in Virginia late under the direction of Dr. Rickman or others 
acting under the United States, and all persons in possession of such 
public stores or medicines are hereby required to deliver the same to 
the said purveyor or his order upon demand. 

Fehruary r7, 1781. 

Ordered, That the medical committee give the directions necessary 
for establishing a hospital in Virginia and providing for the same, and 
also for removing the sick from the new gaol in this city to some 
proper place to be provided as a hospital for prisoners. 

February 6', 1781. 

Resolved, That Thomas Bond, jr., purveyor to the general hospital, 
be, and herel)y is, authorized to settle the accounts for salaries and 
pay (he olHcers of the hospital established in Virginia, under the direc- 
tion of Dr. (jould, which h:ive accrued since the new arrangement of 
the Medical Departnient, and that Dr. Rickman, late deputy director, 
settle and return the accounts of salaries due the officers of the said 
hospitals prior to that date to the present purveyor. 



.'{*(2 i,i':()isi,,\i'i\ h: iii;;|(ii;n <>1' oiin I'Ikai- .staki'' <»I'' r. h, aimmv. 

,iA//v// ./, irsi. 

<h'(l<r<<l, rii;i( I )r. .I.'imr.s ( 'rjiik, cliirl' li<is|)il:il pli vsiciiin mikI siir- 
j»'«>()ii, l>r, iiiiil lie i.s li('rt'l>\ , :i|)|)(HiiltM| cliid' pli ysicinii jiikI siii'ijcoii of 
llic Aiiin ill IIk' room of Dr. .1. ('ocIumm. »>I('c1«'(I dirccloi' ol' Uic 
lioM|iil:il. 

,)A//v// .-. /;'.S7. 

Aci'ortliiiL;' (o (lio ordtM' ol llii< (l:i\ , ( 'omnrcss procccMlcvl lo (Im> rlcc- 
Ijoii ol' !i cliid' |)li\ siciiiii :ni(l siiri'coii of llic liospiljils in (he room of 
I)r. ('I'niK, I'cmovrd (o Ili(> Aiiiiy; mihI, (In- Ii:iIIo(m l)(>iny (mKimi, 

|)r. W'illinm Hurii(>l wms (dfchMJ. Ii!i\iii<; l»t'(Mi prrxiotish nomiiiMlcd 
by Ml'. \\' illKM'Hpoon. 

M,ir.h .':.'. I7SI. 

\\ luM(>Ms (lir l;i(r icimiImI ions lor coiiducl iii;; (lie MtMJicMi 1 >cii;i rl liiciil 
tliid miiiliii'v li(»N|»ilMls |)!i,ss(mI (lii> MiHli d:iy of SoplfmlxM" liisl, mikI 
MiiKMidcd l»y N(*V(M':il siil)s(>(|iit'nl :itls o'i ( "oiio'i'oss, cxlt'iid no iiirllu>r 
soiidiwiu'd (liim lo inrindt* (ln> Sl:il(> of \"ir«^iniM; Miid \vli»M(>:is llic 
|trt's(>nl o|)(M'!i( ions ol" (li(< wmi" (o (Ih> .soulhw.-ird miilu> il n(M'(\ss;uy (IimI 
(Ih' 1 los|ii<Ml I >('p:irlm('n( in lli:il disl rid !>(> itMidtMtnl jis uniloiin (o lluit 
in lilt* Norl liciii :irniy as c iicu nisi Mnccs will ptMiuil lh:il no iiu-onv (Mii(M\i'«' 
intiv !iris(> lo {\\o \rm\ in o(>ii('r:il from dillonMit iind op|)osil(» sys((Mns, 
MS iIn ojummI ions ni:i\ (>\ ml ii:ill\ !><> inliM'fli:ui<i'("il)l<> from one district 
to nnotlitM" in m sliorl s|);i((' ol' (iiin>: riuMcrorc. 

/t\s<>/r<i/, 'riiiil tile re l>(> oih> di^pnly dircM'lor ol' t Iw military hospitals, 
who shall, in t h(» m1>s(mic(» ol' t h»» p|ir(>»'tor. ha\ »> 1 1h> ^MUMal conl vol anci 
mana^cnuMil of all I ii(> milil:iry hospitals thsit aroor may l>o ostal>lislu>d 
iind(M- the ordtMs td' I litMommandor of lh(> Son tluM-n army lor lht> t imi» 
IxMiim". 

/i\s()/iY(/^ That lor (he :irm\ ;iror<>s:iid (Ihmt shall !>(> oiu^ iliiid' phy 
si«'ia>i oT (ho hospital, w ho shall also Im> a suio'con; oiu> «hi(d' pli\ sirian 
(o (luy .said arniy, who whall also l)<> sisursi'oon; two hospital physicians, 
who shall also bo. .sin\ii"Oons, and four suvo^Murs mat ivs t'or t ho hospitals; 
oii(> deputy ]>nr\t\vor with an assistant; ono deputy apoth«>oary with 
an assistant; and to oach hospital a steward, matron. ordtM'ly nuMi.amI 
mirsos as is directed in the arranot^ment of i\\o hospital passed the ."UMh 
da\ ol' Sept(Mnb»>r at'oi'csaid; 

riiat the deputy dire»-toi'. «l(>pnl\ purvcxor. and deputy apolhecarv 
ha\t> and e\ercis(> t he sanu» pow »M"s wnich arc cxercistMJ by the director, 
pnr\c\or. and apolhiM-ary, rt\sp(>ct.i\ ely. aureeal>ly to tlu> arrane(Mn»Mit 
abo\ I' nuM\( iiMied ; 

'I'hal. (ht> pa\ orthed<>put\ dir«>clor b»> 1 li) d»)llars p(>r nmnlh. that 
orthcilepnlv pur\c\oiand depu(\ apot hecary each !:'(' vlolL-ir^ p<M' 
nionth; and they shall s*'\»M'allv be entitliMl to tln^ same* (>nu»limuMits 
antl sul)j(>ct to {\\o same reoulations and r(>strict ions as their rt^specti\(» 
jiriiu'ipals are «Mit ithnl or sjibji^'ti^i to l>\ llu* al>o\ »> nuMil ioinNl arran^t^ 
ni»M\t and lh(> auKMidnuMds tlnM'»M»>: 

'That, all ill otlu-r ollict-is ol' the hospital anil medical stall' for the 
SoulhtMn arm\ (>\iMei-^(> the powtM's. perform the s.anu^ dutii's. r(>cei\'(* 
tlu^ s.anie pa\ and cmolumenls. and l>e sulijiH'l to iUo reoiilalions and 



TllK MKI>1('.\I, l)i:i'AlM"MKN r 



:\\r.\ 



r«>s( rid ions JMid .lown in (lie :iriirt'>Miil ;in:iiiL:fiiicMil for olliccrs of like 
(loscfiption: 

Proriil, il. II, I', rt/n l< s.<, 'V\\;\[ tlu> powers thcnMii diirflcd to he cxcr 
cist'il l)y ( luMliroctor niul \\\\\ two cliic'l' jiliysiciims mikI suiljcoms of 
\\\o liospilnl sh.'ill, ill llu> :iI)s(mh'(> of (ho «l(>|)n(y dirt'clor. ho \ cslcd in 
:ind o\iM'ois(Hl hy iho ncxl tdlioor in Iho Ilospidd 1 >(>|)Mr(in»Mil l'oi- (Ih< 
Soii(h(M'M Mi'iny , :md soon in succossion, in conjunction with the two 
next seniors. 

M,irrh ;.';■, HSI. 

(\>no'r(\ss j)i'oc(MMh'd to th(> tdcclion oi' :i dc|)iily puiNcyor of th(> hos 
pilal Uiv lh(> southern MiMuy, nnd, (he ItnUots heinj^' (jiken iind counted, 

Hr. Nath;in Hrow nson was (dee(ed, he ha\ inn" heiMi ])re\iously nonii 
nated l»y Mr. Adams. 

.{)ynl IS, nsi. "The ('oiniu;ui(U'r in Cliief, conwiderinu' \\\c srnrcity of liospitjil 
ston's Mild tlie Jidv:iiu'<'d seaseii, thinUs pn>|u'r to order :\ discoiitiinijiiicc «i|" inocul;i- 
tioii ill the Army." (Ordnv, (t',)i,r(il ll<iul(jii<ui(r.i, .\V//' WiinlKor.) 



A/>ril ..'/, /;'.s7. 

7i(S()Ii'((/, 'Pha( i\\o su])(M'in((Mui(>n( of tinance ]n\ antl h(> is h(M'(d)y, 
Mudiorized (o riMiniM' from ollice or iMiipioymcMd for incapacity, neoli 
o-enei\ dishones( v, or othcM' mish(dia\ior such p(>fsons not immediattdy 
appointed liy (hi^ I'Miteil States in Conoiwss asscMnhU'd as ai-(> or may 
1>(> otlicially (Mili'iisted with and inuuediatidy emphiyed in (he expcMidi 
tur(> of the piihlic. supplies, stores, and other pro|)erty, . . . anil 
such o\^ the said piM'sons as ar*MM' may 1»(\ in his judo'ment , uniHH't'ssai'y, 
it'portino' to sucli aulhoi'ity, hoafil, minister, or ollice to whom it may 
l»(dono-, to supply the \ai'ancy, tlu> i('s|)ecli\ c nami>s of the persons so 
r(Mno\ cd; 

That he lie authori/.i>d to suspiMid from «)tlice of (Muployment, for 
similar caus(\s, ptM'sons ollii'ially tMuployed and (Mitrustcni as aforesaid 
imMiedia(ely ai)poin(ed In (he I'nitcd States in Conoi-ess assemlihul, 
ivpoi'lin^' forthwith tluMr names and the reason of susptMision: 

/*r(>ri(/, (/. That in all cases wIum(> any of the ])ersons aforesaid ar»M)r 
ma\ lie aiiuMialile to tli(> law martial (he superin(tMui«Mi( he, and he is 
lu>rel)y, audiorized and dir(>c((>d, if he shall d(»em i( mos( »>\i)edient 
for (he puhlic sei'vic(\ (o i)u( (hem in arres( hy ortU'i' in writing, and 
(o iipply (o (lu» olliciM" whose duty it may he to ord(>r a court niar(ial, 
and siiih ollicer is herehy directed to orch'r prociMnlinos on (he arres( 
iieeordino'ly ; 

Tha( in e\t'rv «'ase of susptMision all pay and emoluments cease from 
th(> date* thereof unl(\ss the pcM'sons ,suspend(>d \)v upon (rial ac»|ui((ed 
and restoi-ed; and the suptMMutendtMit shall ha\(> jxiwcr to supply tlu> 
piai'(\ when it ma\ he necessary, hy a ttMuporary appointment, io 
continue until the person susptMided he restored or dismisscnl; 

Tha((lu> aforesaid jxiwers shall no( he cons(rued to interfere with 
(lu> rank, commission, or military duty of any ollicer in \\\o line of {\\c 
.Vrmv or (hose who may In* duly iMdrusdMl with money for secict 
sei'\ iet> l)\- (\)nor(>ss, or (lu> Commander in (liief of (he Aiiuy,or 
commandino- ollict'r of a .sc^paratc department; 

That. (h(^ pow'cM's aforesaid Ix^ (>x«M"('istHl durino- (he pleasure of ("on- 
p'ress, I)u( not, (o (*x(«Mid hevond (he duration of the war. 



394 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

May 15, 1781. 

Congress proceeded to tlio cloction of officers in the hospital depiirt- 
ment for the southern army, and, the ballots being taken, 

Dr. David Oliphant was elected deputy director; 

Peter Fa3"ssoux, chief physician of the hospital; 

James Brown, chief physician of the Army; 

Robert Johnston and William Reed, hospital physicians, having been 
previously nominated by Mr. Matthews. 

Resolved, That all such officers of the medical department, appointed 
under the directorship of Dr. Oliphant, as are now in captivity in 
South Carolina and Georgia, and have the charge of the sick prisoners 
in those States, l)e continued in their respective offices as heretofore, 
and be considered as vested with the same power and entitled to the 
same privileges and emoluments as they had and enjoyed before their 
captivit}^ to extend no further than to the troops and hospitals within 
the enemy's lines. 

May 28, 1781. 

Ordered, That the medical committee be discontinued, and that the 
committee lodge with the board of war all the returns and papers in 
their possession, and then be discharged; and that the l)usiness hereto- 
fore entrusted to them and the powers with which they were invested 
be transferred to the board. 

May 31, 1781. — " Lieut. William Eysandeau, of the 5th Massachusetts Eegt., is 
appointed until further orders to superintend the general military hospital." 
( Orders, General Headquarters, Net" Windsor. ) 

Jime 11, 1781. 

Resolved, That the officers of the hospital and medical department 
now in service bo allowed the depreciation upon their pay in the same 
manner as officers of the line of the Army. 

* * * 

Res(>lved, That . . . all letters to and from him [the director of 
the hospital] be free. 

June IS, 1781. 

Resolved, That it l)e, and hereby is, recommended to the several 
States, to which the officers of the hospital and medical department 
now in service respectively belong, or of which they are or were 
inhabitants, to settle the accounts of the said officers for depreciation 
on the principles established b}^ the resolution of Congress of the 
10th of April, 1780, and to make provision for paying the balances 
that may be found due. . . . 

July 10, 1781. 

Resolved, That the superintendent of finance be, and he is herebj', 
authorized, either by himself or such person or persons as he shall 
from time to time appoint for the purpose, to procure or contract all 
necessary suppli(\s for the use of the Army or armies of the United 
States, . . . and also for the transportation thereof. . . . 



THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 395 

Septemher '20, 1781. 

Hcxolred, That the present vaoancios of hospital physicians and sur- 
geons be tilled up 1\y the senior surgeons of the hospital lately deranged; 
the eldest hospital mates or regimental surgeons as shall be recom- 
mended by the director and chief phj^sician and surgeon to the Army; 

That all future yacancies of hospital physicians and surgeons be tilled 
by the eldest i-egimental surgeons and hospital mates, who shall be 
reckoned of equal grades, who shall, upon examination, be found 
qualitied, and oI>tain a certiticate of recommendation from the director 
and chief physician and surgeon of the Army, or of the deputy director 
and chief physician in a separate department; 

That the persons requisite to till the higher grades in the hospital and 
medical department ])e appointed from time to time hy Congress 
according to merit and abilities; 

That all surgeons to regiments or corps not belonging to the line of 
an}' particular State ))o nominated ]\y the director of the hospitals and 
the chief physician and surgeon of the Ami} , subject to the approba- 
tion of the Commander in Chief, and shall be equally entitled to promo- 
tion to hospital physicians and surgeons with the regimental surgeons 
of States lines. 

On recommendation of the director appointed l\y the board of war, 

I^ew/red, That Dr. Joseph Young, a deranged senior surgeon, and 
Doctors Goodwin Wilson, Daniel Jenifer, Samuel Edmondson, and 
George Campbell, eldest surgeon's mates, be promoted to the rank of 
hospital physicians and surgeons to till the yacancies occasioned by the 
resignation of Doctors Bloomtield, Scott, Hagan, and Jackson, and the 
promotion of Dr. Burnet. 

On the recommendation of the deputy director, approved ))y the 
board of war, 

Me-solred, That Doctors Thomas Tudor Tucker and Vickers l)e 
appointed physicians and surgeons in the hospital for the southern 
department; 

That Daniel Smith be appointed assistant deputy purveyor and John 
Carne assistant deputy apothecary in the southern department. 

September 2^, 1781. 

Ordered., That no appointment be made of mates to supply the places 
of those promoted in the general hospital by the resolution of the 20th 
instant until the further order of Congress. 

October 2, 1781. — "Capt. Pike, of Col. Scammell's regt. of infantry, is appointed to 
superintend the military hospital at Williamsburgh." 

"The gentlemen in the Medical Dept. from South Carolina are desired to do duty 
in the general hospital at Williamsburgh." {Orders, General Headquarters, before 
York.) 

October 18, 1781. 

Res^olved., That Dr. Johnson, a hospital physician and surgeon, be, 
and he is hereby, authorized to do the duty of deputy purveyor for 
the military hospital in the Southern Department until the further 
order of Congress. 



396 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

January J, IIS'B. 

Resolved^ That for the more recrular conducting- the generul hospital, 
the offices of chief physician and surgeon of the Army, and of chief 
hospital physician, be, and hereby are, abolished; and that the chief 
ph3\sician and surgeon to the Army, eldest in appointment, be con- 
tinued in service, under the title of physician, with the pay and emolu- 
ments heretofore allowed to a chief hospital physician; 

That the number of surgeons to all the military hospitals of the 
United States be reduced so as not to exceed fifteen; 

That the director have the general superintendence and direction of 
all the military hospitals, and of practice both in camp and in hospitals; 

That in the absence of the director, his duty devolve on the deput}^ 
director or physician, and in their absence on the hospital surgeon, 
according to seniority; 

That the director, or in his absence the senior medical officer, with 
the approbation of the Commander in Chief or commanding- g-eneral of 
a separate army, be, and hereby is, authoi-ized and empowered, as 
often as may be judged necessary, to call a medical board, which shall 
consist of the three senior medical officers then present; and it shall be 
the dut}' of such board to appoint all hospital mates, to examine all 
candidates for promotion in the hospital department, and recommend 
to the Secretary at War such as they judge best qualified; and gener- 
ally to take cognizance of, and give their opinion and advice on, every 
matter relative to the department which may be sulmiitted to them by 
the Commander in Chief or coumianding general of a separate army: 
Pro'vided alu-ai/K^ That no regulation, plan, or order of the board shall 
be valid and take ettect until approved by the Commander in Chief or 
commanding- general of a separate army and issued in general orders. 

That all returns heretofore ordered to be made by the director or 
deputy director to the medical conmiittee be made to the Secretary 
at War. 

That the stewards may, in the first instance, when the purveyor or 
his assistant is at a distance, be appointed by the director or senior 
medical officer, but shall be removable at pleasure and others substi- 
tuted in their stead by the purveyor or his assistant. And although 
in their purchases or issues they are to obey the orders of the pre- 
scribing surgeons, yet for the faithful discharge of their duty they are 
to be accountable to the purveyor, who shall in like manner be account- 
able to the United States. Wherefore the said stewards shall keep 
separate accounts of all they receive and of what they themselves pur- 
chase, and shall render an account monthly of all the issues, with their 
stock on hand, to the purveyor, who shall render the said accounts, 
together with a particular account of the supplies furnished by him- 
self or his assistants to each respective hospital, once every three 
months to the superintendents of finance. 

That the Secretary at War l)e, and he is hereby, empowered and 
directed, on or before the first day of February next, and hereafter 
from time to time, as the service may require, to arrange the depai't- 
ment agreeably to the foreg-oing- resolutions, and to issue his orders 
to such as he think proper to remain, paving a due regard in his first 
arrangement to such of the chief physicians and surgeons as may 
choose to continue in service in the rank of surgeons, and in his sub- 
sequent arrangements to such of the senior officers as may choose to 
remain in service. 



THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 397 

Tluit such of the officors as shall not l)e called into service agTeeal)ly 
to the fore^'oin^" resolution be considered as reduced by Congress, and 
be entitled to the emoluments granted by the act of Congress of the 
17th of January, 1781. 

That when l)y reason of vacancies or otherwise any officer hereafter 
to be appointed in the hospital department, and whose appointment is 
reserved to Congress, due regard be paid to the officers next in rank, 
and that the appointment of hospital surgeons be from among the regi- 
mental surgeons and hospital mates: Proi'hled^ That no regimental 
surgeon shall be so appointed who shall not have submitted himself to 
an examination by the medical board and obtain from them a certificate 
that he is well qualified for the office of regimental surgeon, by which 
certificate the regimental surgeon shall be considered as superior in 
rank to an hospital mate, but not otherwise. 

Remh'ed^ That the director, deputy director, physician, surgeons, 
and mates, as well hospital as regimental, receive their pay out of the 
military chest at the same time and in the same manner as the army 
with which they serve; the abstracts to be signed by the director, 
deputy director, or physician, or in their absence by the senior hos 
pital surgeon; and the warrants to issue in the same manner as for the 
pay of the Army. 

January 10, 178'2. 

Hesolred, . . . ; the director, deput}" director, or superintend- 
ing surgeon of any hospital shall furnish them, the Inspector-General, 
or inspector of a separate army, with such returns as they ma}^ find 
necessar}" for the better execution of their office. 

* ■X- * 

Ordered, That the present purveyor of the hospital, who was lately 
assistant deputy director of the middle district, settle and certify the 
pa}^ and other allowance due to the officers of the late hospital depart- 
ment, north of Potomac, up to the Ith day of October, 1780, the time 
that a new choice of officers took place. 

January 16, 1782. 

Mesolved, That in the settlement of the accounts of such officers of 
the hospital and medical department as are entitled to an allowance 
for depreciation by any resolutions of Congress, the establishment of 
pay made upon the 8th day of April, 1777, be considered as specie. 

A^'id, 22, 1782. 

Remlved, That from and after the tirst day of May next all resolves 
of Congress heretofore passed relative to rations, subsistence, or allow 
ances to officers over and above their pay and what they are entitled 
to from the Quartermaster's Department, . . . be, and they are 
hereby, repealed; that from and after the first day of May next each 
officer shall be entitled to draw daily the number of rations, . . . 
affixed to their several ranks, \'ya: 

* -X- -X- 

Director-fieneral of the hospital 2 nitiouw per day. 

Chief physician and surgeon 2 do. 

Hospital surgeon 1 do. 

mate 1 do. 

steward 1 do. 

ward niastei- 1 do. 



398 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

May 7, HS'B. 

RrHoJrrd, That the .superintendent of finance he, and hereby is, 
authorized to appoint an inspector for the Main and kSouthern Army, 
to taivc care that the contracts for supplying- rations be duly executed 
by the contractors; that the said inspectors shall also l)e, and they are 
hereby, fully empowered and directed to attend to the expenditures of 
public property in the several departments of the Army, and report 
any fraud, neglect of duty, or other misconduct by which the public 
property is wasted, or expense unnecessarily accumulated, so that the 
party charged therewith may be tried by court-martial on such charges 
exhibited against him ])y either of the said inspectors; and that neither 
the said inspectors nor the said conti'actors, or their property, be liable 
to arrest or subject to martial law, except by the express order of the 
Conunander in Chief, or conunander of the army ^o which the inspect- 
oi's, respectively, shall l)e appointed, any resolution or act of Congress 
heretofore made notwithstanding. 

That the pay to each inspector be IHOf dollars per month in full of 
all allowances. 

That each inspector whtni appointed shall take an oath for the faith- 
ful and impartial execution of the trust reposed in him as inspector 
of the contracts of the Army. 

June 6', 1782. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a deputy })wr\'eyor for the 
southern hospital; and, the ballots l)eing taken, 

Dr. N. Brownson was elected, haying been previously nominated ])y 
Mr. Bland. 

July 23, rrm. 

liesolred. That in conducting the ])usiness of the general hospital 
there j^hall be an invariable standard of prices established, l)y which 
the apothecary shall be charged with ever}" article he shall issue. The 
standard to be estaljiished l)y the medical board, or such person or 
persons as they shall appoint, which shall only be considered as a cer- 
tain ratio whereby to keep the accounts. But that in the settlement 
of all accounts in that department all deficient articles, not issued or 
returned, shall be accounted for at such real value as shall be estimated 
by the medical board and approved of l)y the Secretary at War. 

An account shall be taken as soon as possible of all the medicines, 
instrr.nicnts, and property in the apothecary's department belonging 
to the public, in the hands of the apothecary, the deputies, assistants, 
and mates, the surgeons of the hospitals, and surgeons of regiments, 
for Avhich they shall, severally be charged at the standard value ascer- 
tained ))y the board, as aforesaid, and for all the}" may hereafter receive, 
))ut to account for deticiencies at the real value, to !)(> estimated as 
aforesaid. 

The apothecary shall be accountal)le for all articles in his department 
to the ])uryeyor throughout the States until they come into the hands 
of the prescribers. And all deputies, assistants, and mates shall make 
returns and be accountable to the apothecary for tlu^ medicini's, instru- 
ments, and other pi-operty ]>elonging to the pul)lic in the de])artment 
now in their hands, and of such as they may hereafter be possessed of. 



THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. • 399 

The apothecary shall make up his accounts at the expiration of every 
year, and settle them atj soon after as possible, and before the expira - 
tion of six months. He shall, at the same time, make out two returns 
for the director of the hospital, one specifying- what has been received 
and issued and the amount of what remains on hand, the other exhi])it- 
ing" a particular amount of the value of the medicines and other public 
property each prescriber has received within the year. 

All losses which may happen b}^ the events of war, and other cir- 
cumstances unavoidable, shall be borne by the public. In cases of 
losses by fraud or neglect in any deputy, assistant, or mate, the apothe. 
cary shall not.be accountable for such losses, provided the delinquent 
be convicted thereof before a court-martial appointed to try the same. 

The hospital prescribers shall be supplied, upon their own applica- 
tion, with medicines and instruments necessary for the sick and 
wounded under their care. 

Every reg-imental surgeon shall receive yearly from the apothecary 
a ;!upply of medicines to such amount, by the above standard, as the 
medical 1:)oard shall judge necessary. 

Every prescribing surgeon or physician, either in hospital or with 
the Arm}', shall l)e supplied l)y the apothecary with such a set of capi- 
tal instruments as the medical l)oard shall judge necessary, and shall 
be accountable for all losses in medicines and instruments not arising 
from the events of war and other circumstances unavoidable. Dupli- 
cates of all returns made by the apothecar}^ to the directoi' shall bo 
lodged in the war office. 

7i*r.yrV/vY/, That in the Ai'my of the United States, excepting the 
southern army, at present under the command of Major-General 
Greene, the offices of assistant purvej'or and assistant apothecary, and 
the storekeepers under the purveyor and apothecary, except one store- 
keeper under the purveyor to keep a store near the army, and all the 
clerks, except two to the purveyor, shall hereafter 1)e discontinued. 

That all surgeons of the hospital shall take -rank after the director 
of the hospital, deputy director, and physician to the Arm}', in the 
following order, viz: Those surgeons of the hospital who have been 
either deputy director, physician-general, surgeon-general, chief phy- 
sician, or chief surgeon to the hospital or Army shall take rank next 
to the above-mentioned officers, and their relative rank to each other 
shall be according to the dates of their respective appointments to 
either of the above offices. 

That all such as were regimental surgeons when appointed senior 
physician or surgeon to the hospital shall take rank with such senior 
physicians and surgeons agreeably to the date of their lirst appoint- 
ment, whether to the regiment or hospital. 

All surgeons the date of whose tirst appointments either to regi- 
ments or hospitals shall have been on the same day shall decide their 
rank by lot. 

That for the more convenient subsistence of the officers of the hospi- 
tal department they be allowed, including their former allowance of 
rations and forage, as fojlows: 

The director of the hospital, four rations a day for himself and serv- 
ants, forage for two horses, and 25 dollars per month subsistence. 

The deputy director and physician, each three rations a day for him- 
self and s(M-\ants, forage for two horses, and 20 dollars per month 
subsistence. 



400 LEC4ISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Ho.spitiil surgeons, eat-h two rations per day for himselt" and sorv ants, 
forage for two horses, and 15 dollars per month siil)sistence. 

Deputy purveyor and deputy apotheeary, each one ration per day, 
forage for one horse, and 10 dollars per month subsistence. 

Hospital mates, each one ration per day and 5 dollars per month 
subsistence. 

Stewards, each one ration per day and 5 dollars per month sub- 
sistence. 

Ward masters, each one ration per da}' and 3 dollars per month 
subsistence. 

That the above allowance of rations, forage, and subsistence to the 
officers of the hospital department, over and above what they were 
severally entitled to at the time of passing this act, shall be charged to 
them respectively as advances in part of their monthly pay. 

That in future the pay and allowance of the purveyor and apothecary 
be the same each as that of a hospital surgeon. 

That none of the aforesaid officers, or other persons emploj^ed in 
any of the hospitals, be entitled to rations, forage, or subsistence when 
on furlough. 

That the regulations respecting officers' servants, contained in the 
act of Congress of the 11th of March, 1780, shall not be construed to 
extend to the hospital department. 

November 12, 1782. — "Lt. Crook, of the 10th Massachusetts regt., is appointed to 
Huperintend the hospital at New VVindsor, vice the captain ordered for that duty the 
lOtii instant." {Orders, General Headquarters, Newburgh.) 

Decemh^r J, US'B. 

Resolved^ That after the fore-mentioned period [the last daj' of 
December inst.], in lieu of the pay and rations allowed to officers of 
the hospital department, including rations for servants, they shall be 
entitled to the following.monthly pa}' and subsistence; provided . . . 
that when the said subsistence money shall not be paid, they shall be 
entitled to draw an equivalent number of rations at the rate of four 
dollars for each ration per month, viz: 

The director, 102 dollars pay and 60 dollars subsistence. 

The deputy director and physician, each 100 dollars pay and -18 dol- 
lars subsistence. 

The surgeons, each 90 dollars pay and 40 dollars subsistence. 

Apothecary and purveyor, each 1)2 dollars pay and 32 dollars sub- 
sistence. 

Deputy apothecary and deputy purveyor, each 59 dollars pay and 10 
dollars subsistence. 

Mates, each 42 dollars pay and 12 dollars subsistence. 

Stewards, each 31 dollars pay and 8 dollars subsistence. 

Ward masters, each 21 dollars pay and 8 dollars subsistence. 

Ajn-n 17, 1783. 

Eemlved., That immediate measures be taken for the sale of . . . 
all such articles in the several military departments as may not be 
necessary for the use of the Army, previous to its reduction, or for 
the formation of magazines on a peace establishment. 



THE MEDICAL DEPAETMENT. 401 

Ifay 16, 1783. 

Resolved,, That the commutation in lieu of half pay ... to the 
officers of the medical department and medical staff shall be calculated 
by what they are respectively entitled to, agreeal)ly to the resolutions 
of the 17th of January and 8th of May, 1781. 

October 31, 77^5.— Congress reported that Doctors Tilton, Otto (Bodo), Fredk. Otto, 
and Martin, of the hospital department, had accepted the commutation of 5 years' 
pay in lieu of half pay for life. 

January ^4^, 1781).. 

Besolved^ That the principals in the several departments of . . . 
the hospital be, and the}^ are hereb3^, ordered to transmit, as soon as 
may l)e, to the War Office, to be laid before Congress, exact returns of 
all the stores in their respective departments, specifying- the quantity 
and quality of each article, where deposited, in whose care, and in 
what manner secured. 

Septemher 6,. 1785. 

Ordered., That the Secretary at War, as soon as may be, cause to be 
made and transmitted to Congress an exact return of all . . . 
public stores, or property of every description, the custody of which 
is charged on the War Department; distinguishing the quantity or 
number, quality, and kind of each, and the several places of their 
deposits; and that he transmit a like return on the first Monday in 
January and the first Monday in Juh^ annuall3^ 

STATUTES AT LARGE. 

Act of April SO, 1790 {1 Stats., 119). 

AN ACT for regulating the military establishment of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 5. That the troops aforesaid shall receive for their services 

the following enumerated monthly rates of pay: . , . Surgeons, 

thirty dollars; surgeons' mates, twenty-four dollars; . . . 

* * * 

Sec, 7. That the commissioned officers aforesaid shall receive for 
their daily subsistence the following number of rations of provisions, 
to wit: ... A surgeon, three; a surgeon's mate, two; . . . 

Act of March 3, 1791 {1 Stats., 222). 

AN ACT foi raising and adding another regiment to the military establishment of 
the United States, and for making further provision for the protection of the 
frontiers. 

* * * 

Sec. 13. That in case the nature of the service upon which the troops 
of the United States may be employed should require a greater num- 
ber of surgeons' mates than are provided for in the before-mentioned 
act (April 30, 1790), the President of the United States may engage 
from time to time such additional number of surgeons' mates as he 
shall judge necessary. 

* * * 

S. Doc. 229 26 



402 LEGISLAIIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Act of March 6, 1792 {1 Stats., 2U). 

AN ACT for making further and more effectual provision for the protection of the 
frontiers of the United States. 



Sec. 7. That the monthly pay of the commissioned officers . . . 
shall be, in future, as follows, free of all deductions, to wit: 
General staff- — . . . Surgeon, seventy dollars . . . 

* * * 

Act of May 8, 1792 (1 Stats., 279). 

AN ACT making alterations in the Treasury and War Dejiartments. 

* * * 

Sec. 5. That all purchases and contracts for supplying the Army 
with ... all other supplies or articles for the use of the Depart- 
ment of War be made by or under the direction of the Treasury 
Department. 



Act ofFehruary 23, 1795 {1 Stats., ^19). 

AN ACT to establish the office of purveyor of public supplies.* 

Sec. 1. That there shall be in the Department of the Treasury an 
officer to be denominated ""purveyor of public supplies," whose duty 
it shall be, under the direction and supervision of the Secretary of the 
Treasury, to conduct the procuring and providing of . . . all arti- 
cles of supply requisite for the service of the United States, . . . 

-X- * * 

Act of March 3, 1795 {1 Stats., 4.30). 

AN ACT for continuing and regulating the military estal)lishment of the United 
States, and for repealing sundry acts heretofore passed ou that subject. 



Sec. 10. That the monthly pay of the officers, nonconunissioned 
officers, musicians, and privates on the military establishment of the 
United States be as follows, to wit: 

General staff— . . . Surgeon, $70 ... 

Sec. 11. That the commissioned officers aforesaid shall be entitled 
to receive for their daily subsistence the following num])er of rations 
of provisions, to wit: . . . ; a surgeon, as well hospital as regi- 
mental, three rations; a surgeon's mate, two rations; . 

Sec. 12. That the officers hereinafter described shall, whenever for- 
age shall not be furnished l)y the public, receive at the rate of the fol- 
lowing-enumerated simis per month instead thereof, to wit: . 
Surgeon-General, . . . twelve dollars; . . . surgeon, . . . 
ten dollars; . . . surgeon's mate, . . . six dollars; . . . 



'Abolished, after May 31, 1812, by the act of March 28, 1812. 



THE MEDICAL DEPAETMENT. 403 

Act of May 28, 1798 (1 Stats., 558.) 

AN ACT authorizing the President of the United States to raise a provisional army. 

* * -j;- 

Sec. 7. That in case the President shall judge the employment of 
a . . . phj^sician-general, . . . essential to the public inter- 
est, he is hereby authorized, by and with the advice and consent of the 
Senate, to appoint the same accordingly, who shall be entitled to the 
rank, pay, and emoluments which follow, viz, . . . ph3^sician- 
general . . . the pay and emoluments of a lieutenant-colonel: 
Provided, That in case the President shall judge it expedient to appoint 
a . . . physician-general ... in the recess of the Senate, 
he is hereby authorized to make any or all of said appointments, and 
grant commissions thereon, which shall expire at the end of the next 
session of the Senate thereafter. 

* * -X- 

Sec. 9. That the . . . physician-general . . . who may be 
appointed by virtue of this act, shall . . . continue in commission 
during such term only as the President shall judge requisite for the 
public service. 

Sec. 10. That no commission or staff officer, who shall be appointed 
by virtue of this act, shall be entitled to receive pay and emoluments 
until he shall be called in actual service, nor for any longer time than 
he shall continue therein. 



Act of July 16, 1798 {1 Stats., 610). 

AN ACT to alter and amend the several acts for the establishment and i-egulation of 
the Treasury, War, and Navy Departments. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. That all purchases and contracts for supplies or services for 
the military . . . service of the United States shall be made by 
or under the direction of the chief officers of the Department of War, 
. . . and all agents or contractors for supplies or services as afore- 
said shall render their accounts for settlement to the accountant of the 
proper department for which such supplies or services are required, 
subject nevertheless to the inspection and revision of the officers of the 
Treasury in manner before prescribed. 

Sec. 4. That it shall be the duty of the purveyor of public supplies 
to execute all such orders as he may, from time to time, receive from 
the Secretary of War . . . relative to the procuring and provid- 
ing of all kinds of stores and supplies; and shall render his accounts 
relative thereto to the accountants of the proper departments, which 
accounts shall be subject to the inspection and revision of the officers 
of the Treasury as aforesaid. 

Sec. 6. That the provision of the act passed on the eighth day of 
Ma}^ one thousand seven hundred and ninety-two, intituled "An act 
making alterations in the Treasur}^ and War Departments," and the 
act passed on the tAventy-third day of February, one thousand seven 
hundred and ninety-five, intituled ''An act to establish the office of 
purveyor of public supplies," so far as the same are repugnant to the 
provisions of this act, bo, and the same are hereby, repealed. 



404 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Sec. 6. That all contracts to be made, l\y virtue of this act, or of an}^ 
law of the United States, and requiring- the advance of money, or to be 
in any manner connected with the settlement of public accounts, shall 
be deposited in the office of the Comptroller of the Treasury of the 
United States within ninet}^ days after their dates, respectively. 

Act (jf March ^, 1799 {1 Stats., 721). 
AN ACT to regulate the medical establishment. 

Sec. 1. That in the medical establishment of the United States there 
shall be the following officers : A phy sician-general,who shall be charged 
with the superintendence and direction of all military hospitals, and, 
generally, of all medical and chirurgical practice or service concei'niug 
the Army or Navy of the United States, and of all persons who shall be 
emploj^ed in and about the same, in camps, garrisons, and hospitals. 
An apothecary -general, and one or more deputies, who shall be charged 
with the safe-keeping and delivery of all medicines, instruments, dress- 
ings, and other articles for the use of the hospital and Army. A pur- 
veyor, who shall be charged with providing medicines, stores, and 
whatsoever else may be necessary in relation to the said practice or 
service. A competent number of hospital surgeons, who shall be liable 
to serve in the field, and who shall have the immediate charge and 
direction of such military hospitals as may be committed to their care, 
respectively. A suitable number of hospital mates, who are to observe 
the directions of the hospital surgeons and shall diligently perform all 
reasonable duties required of them for the recovery of the sick and 
wounded. 

Sec. 2. That each military hospital shall have a steward, with a 
competent number of nui'ses and other attendants; which steward shall 
be charged with the procuring of such supplies as may not otherwise 
be furnished and with the safe-keeping and issuing of all supplies. 

Sec. 3. That the said physician-general, hospital surgeons, purveyor, 
and apothecary and apothecaries, deputy or deputies, shall be appointed 
as other officers of the United States; that the said mates and stewards 
shall be appointed by the authority and at the direction of the said 
physician-general, subject to the eventual approbation and control of 
the President of the United States, and shall l)e removable by the 
authority of the said physician-general; and that the surgeon of each 
hospital shall appoint, employ, and fix the compensation of the nurses 
and other attendants of such hospital, subject to the control of the said 
physician-general, or the hospital surgeon of senior appointment, with 
a separate army, or in a sei)arate district. 

Sec. 4. That as often as the regimental sick will not suffer by the 
employing of the regimental surgeons or mates in the temporary or 
other hospitals of the United States, the physician-general, or the hos- 
pital surgeon, or senior appointment, with a separate array, or in a 
separate district, with the consent of the general and Commander in 
Chief, or the officer commanding a separate army may require the 
attendance of such surgeons, or surgeon's mates, as, in his opinion, 
can be with safety so withdrawn from their regiments. 

Sec. 5. That it shall be the duty of the physician-general, with two 
or more hospital surgeons, to frame a system of directions relative to 



THE MEDICAL DEPAETMENT. 405 

the description of patients to be admitted into the hospitals; to the 
means of promoting- cleanliness in the hospitals; to the prevention of 
idleness, skulking', and gambling in the hospitals; to the prevention 
of the spread of infectious distempers in the camps and hospitals, and 
the government of nurses and all others charged with the care of the 
sick in camps and hospital, subject, in the tirst instance, to the appro- 
bation and revision of the Commander in Chief, the commander of a 
separate army, or in a separate district, as the case uvdj be, and, eventu- 
ally, to the approbation and control of the President of the United 
States: Provided always^ That the waid directions, having received the 
sanction of the Commander in Chief, or the commander of a separate 
army, shall be operative, and remain in full force, unless altered or 
annulled by the President of the United States. 

Sec. 6. That the compensations of the said several officers shall be 
as follows: Of the physician-general, one hundred dollars pay per 
month, and tifty dollars per month, which shall be in full compensation 
for forage, rations, and travelling expenses; of the purveyor, one 
hundred dollars pay per month in full compensation for his services, 
and all expenses; of the apothecary -general, eighty dollars pay per 
month, and thirty dollars per month in full compensation for forage, 
rations, and all expenses; of each of his deputies, fifty dollars pay per 
month, and sixteen dollars per month in full compensation for forage, 
rations, and all expenses; of each hospital surgeon, eight}^ dollars pay 
per month, and forty dollars per mouth in full compensation for 
forage, rations, and all expenses; of each mate, thirty dollars pay per 
month, and twenty dollars per month in full compensation for forage, 
rations, and all expenses; of each steward, twentj^-five dollars pay per 
month, and eight dollars per month in full compensation for forage, 
rations, and all expenses: Provided, That none of the officers aforesaid 
shall be entitled to any part of the pay or emoluments aforesaid until 
they shall, respectively, be called into actual service. 

Sec. 7. That, for the accommodation of the sick of the Army and 
Navy of the United States, the physician-general and the hospital 
surgeon of senior appointment, with the approbation of the general 
commanding the ami}- within the district w^here he shall be, shall have 
the power to provide temporary hospitals; and the physician-general, 
with the approbation of the President of the United States, shall have 
power to provide and establish permanent hospitals. 

Sec. 8. That all the said officers and others shall, as touching their 
several offices and duties, be liable to the rules and regulations for the 
government and discipline of the Army; and shall be bound to obey, 
in conformity with law and the usages and customs of armies, the orders 
and directions of the chief militar}^ officers of the respective armies, 
and within the respective districts in which they shall respectively serve 
and be. 

Sec. 9. That the physician-general, or, in his absence, the senior 
medical officer, with the approbation of the Commander in Chief or 
commanding officer of a separate army, be, and hereby is, authorized 
and empowered, as often as may be judged necessary, to call a medical 
board, which .shall consist of the three senior medical officers then pres- 
ent, whose duty it shall be to examine all candidates for employment or 
promotion in the hospital department, and to certify to the Secretary 
of War the qualifications of each. 



406 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 
Act of March S, 1799 {1 Stats., 7^). 

AN ACT for the better organizing of the troops of the United States, and for other 

purposes. 

•X- -x- * 

Sec. 24. That it shall be lawful for the Secretary of War to cause to 
be provided in each and every year all . . . medicines and hospital 
stores necessary for the troops and armies of the United States for the 
succeeding year, and for this purpose to make purchases and enter or 
cause to be entered into all necessar}^ contracts and obligations for 
effecting the same. 

-X- -x- -x- 

Act of March. 10, 1802 {^2 Stats., 132). 
AN ACT fixing the military jjeace establishment of the United States. 

Sec. 3. That there shall be . . . two surgeons, twenty-live 
surgeon's mates, to be attached to the garrisons or posts, and not to 
corps. 

Sec. 4. That the monthly pa}" of the officers ... be as fol- 
lows, to wit: ... to each surgeon, forty-live dollars; to each 
surgeon's mate, thirty doUars. . 

Sec. 5. That the commissioned officers aforesaid shall be entitled 
to receive for their dailv subsistence the following numlier of rations 
of provisions: ... a surgeon, three rations; a surgeon's mate, 
two rations . . . or money in lieu thereof, at the option of the 
said officers ... at the posts, respectively, where the rations 
shall become due; and if at such post supplies are not furnished by 
contract, then such allowance as shall be deemed e([uital»le, having 
reference to former contracts and the position of the place in question; 
. . . to such matrons and nurses as may be necessarily emplo3'ed 
in the hospital, one ration each. . . . 

* -X- * 

Sec. 7. That the following officers shall, whenever forage is not 
furnished by the pul)lic, receive at the rate of the following sums per 
month in lieu thereof: . . . each surgeon, ten dollars; and each 
surgeon's mate, six dollars. 



Act of March 26, 180 J4, {2 Stats., 290). 

AN ACT in addition to "An act for fixing the military peace establishment in the 

United States." 

That there shall ])e appointed, in addition to the surgeon's mates 
provided for by the ''Act hxing the military peace establishment of 
the United States," as many surgeon's mates, not exceeding six, as the 
President of the United States may judge necessary, to be attached to 
garrisons or posts, agreeably to the provisions of the said act. 



THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 407 

Act of April m, 1808 {2 Stat.^., 481). 

AN ACT to raise for a limited time an additional military force. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. That when, in the opinion of the President of the United 
States, a suitable proportion of the troops authorized by this act shall 
be raised, there may be appointed . . . such number of hospital 
surgeons and surgeon's mates as the service may require, but not 
exceeding- five surgeons and fifteen mates, with one steward and one 
ward master to each hospital. 

Sec. 4. That the compensation of the officers . . . noncommis- 
sioned officers . . . authorized l)y this act shall be, viz: . 
each hospital surgeon, seventy-five dollars per month, six rations per 
day, or an equivalent in money, twelve dollars per month for forage, 
when not furnished as aforesaid; each hospital surgeon's mate, forty 
dollars per month, two rations per day, or an equivalent in mone}^ 
and six dollars per month for forage, when not furnished as aforesaid; 
each hospital steward, twenty dollars per month, and two rations per 
day, or an equivalent in money; each ward master, sixteen dollars per 
month, and two rations per day, or an equivalent in money; . 
Provided, The officers . . . furnish their own horses and accou- 
trements, and actually keep in service the aforesaid number of horses 
to entitle them to the aforegoing allowance for forage, or its equivlent 
in money. 

* * * 

Sec. 8. That in the recess of the Senate the President of the United 
States is hereby authorized to appoint all or any of the officers, other 
than the general officers, proper to be appointed under this act; which 
appointment shall be submitted to the Senate, at the next session, for 
their advice and consent. 

Sec. 9. That every . . . staff officer to be appointed in virtue 
of this act shall be a citizen of the United States, or some one of the 
Territories thereof. 

Act of January 11, 1812 (2 Stats., 671). 

AN ACT to raise an additional military force. 

* * * 

Sec. 4. That there shall be appointed . . . such number of 
hospital surgeons and mates as the service may require, with one stew- 
ard to each hospital. 

* * * 

Act of March S, 1813 {2 Stats., 816). 

AN ACT the better to provide for the supplies of the Army of the United States, 
and for the accountability of persons entrusted with the same. 

Sec. 2. [That the superintendent-general of military supplies shall] 
prescribe the forms of all the returns and accounts of such stores and 
supplies purchased, on hand, distributed, used, or sold, to be rendered 
by . . . the hospital surgeons and other officers belonging to the 
Hospital and Medical Departments. . . . 



408 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Sec. 3. That . . . the principal hospital surgeons and officers 
belonging- to the Hospital and Medical Departments . , . shall 
render quarterly accounts of the disposition and state of all such stores 
and supplies to the superintendent aforesaid, and shall also make such 
other returns respecting the same, and at such other times as the Sec- 
retary for the War Department may prescribe: Proivded, h(ricevet\ That 
the accounts and returns thus rendered shall relate to the articles of 
supply onh', which may have been received and disposed of, or as may 
remain on hand, and shall not embrace the specie accounts for monies' 
disbursed by such officers, . . . which specie accounts shall be 
rendered as heretofore to the accountant for the War Department. 

Sec. 4. That the officers . . . who may receive monies in advance 
from the War Department shall render quarterly accounts to the 
accountant of the said Department of their specie receipts and dis- 
bursements, and shall moreover make such other monthly summary 
statements thereof to the Secretary of the said Department as he may 
prescribe. . . . 



Act of March 3, 18 IS (^ Stats., 819). 

AN ACT for the bettei' organizaticni of the general staff of the Army of the United 

States. 

* * * 

Sec. 7. That for the better superintendence and management of the 
hospital and medical esta'nlishment of the Army of the United States, 
there shall be a physician and surgeon general, with an annual salary 
of two thousand five hundred dollars, and an apothecary-general with 
an annital salary of eighteen hundred dollars, whose respective duties 
and powers shall be prescribed by the President of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 11. That all letters and packets to and from the . . . phy- 
sician and surgeon general and apothecary-general which relate to 
their official duties shall be free from postage. 



Act of March 30, 18U {3 Stats., 113). 

AN ACT for the better organizing, paying, and supplying the Army of the United 

States. 

* * * 

Sec. 9. That from and after the first day of June next, the officers 
of the Army shall be entitled to waiters agreeable to grade, as follows: 
. . . hospital surgeon, each one. . . . 

* * * 

Sec. 11. That the President of the United States be authorized to 
appoint so many assistant apothecaries as the service may, in his judg- 
ment, require, each of whom shall receive the same pay and emolu- 
ments as a regimental surgeon's mate. 

* * * 

Sec. 18. That the physician and the surgeon-general of the Army be 
entitled to two rations per day and forage for two horses. . . . 



THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 409 

Act of March 3, 1815 {3 Stats., 224). 

AN ACT fixing the military peace establishment of the United States. 

■i -x- -X- 

Sec. 3. That there .shall be . . . such number of hospital sur-. 
geons and surgeon's mates as the service may require, not exceeding 
tive surgeons and tifteen mates, with one steward and one ward master 

to each hospital. 

* * * 

May 17, 1815. — . . . And the President of the United States has further judged 
projier that, in addition to the provision for a general staff, which is specifically made 
by the act of Congress, certain officers shall be retained, under the special authority 
given by the act, until circumstances will permit of their discharge, without material 
injury to the service; and that the following shall be the 

GENERAL STAFF. 

* * * 

An apothecary -general and two assistant apothecaries, to be provisionally retained. 

Five hospital surgeons. 

Fifteen hospital surgeon's mates. 

Two garrison surgeon's, to be provisional!}^ retained. 

Ten garrison surgeon's mates, to be provisionally retained. 

* * * 

{General Orders, A. and I. G.'i^ Office.) 

Act of Aiwil 24, 1816 [3 Stats., 297). ' 

AN ACT for organizing the general staff and making further provisions for the Army 

of the United States. 

That . . . the apothecary-general, as heretofore authorized, be 
allowed two assistant apothecaries. 

Sec, 2. That the medical staff shall be so extended that there shall 
be four hospital surgeons and eight hospital surgeon's mates to each 
division, with as many post surgeons as the service may require, not 
exceeding twelve to each division, who shall receive the same pay and 
emoluments as hospital surgeon's mates. . . . 

* * * 

Act of 2f arch 18, 1818 {3 Stats., 4,10). 

AN ACT to provide for certain persons engaged in the land and naval service of the 
United States, in the Revolutionary war. 

That . . . all officers in the hospital department and medical 
staff* who served in the war of the Revolution until the end thereof, 
or for the term of nine months, or longer, at any period of the war, 
in the continental establishment . . . who is yet a resident citizen 
of the United States, and who is, or hereafter, by reason of his reduced 
circumstances in life, shall be, in need of assistance from his country 
for support, and shall have substantiated his claim to a pension in the 
manner hereinafter directed, shall receive a pension from the United 
States; if an officer, of twenty dollars per month during life; . . . 
J^rovided, No person shall be entitled to the provisions of this act 
until he shall have relinquished his claim to every pension heretofore 
allowed him by the laws of the United States. 



410 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENEEAL STAFF OF U. S. AEMY. 

Act of April U, 1818 (;? Stats., m)- 
AN ACT regulating the staff of the Army. 

That so much of the act "fixing the military peace establishment 
of the United States," passed the third of March, one thousand eight 
hundred and fifteen, as relates to hospital stewards and ward masters, 
and so much of the "Act for organizing the general staff, and making- 
further provision for the Army of the United States," passed April 
twenty-fourth, one thousand eight hundred and sixteen, as relates to 
hospital surgeons, hospital surgeons' mates, . . . be, and the same 
is hereby, repealed. 

Sec. 2. That there shall be one Surgeon-General, with a salary of two 
thousand five hundred dollars per annum, one assistant surgeon- 
general, with the emoluments of a hospital surgeon, . . . and that 
the num])er of post surgeons be increased, not to exceed eight to each 

division. 

* * * 

Ma\\ 1, 1820 [3-567). — Section 5 of thin act authorizes the President to direct a 
portion of the money appropriated respectively for the service of the Quartermaster's, 
Subsistence, and Medical departments to be applied to any other of the above- 
mentioned branches of expenditure. 

Act of May 8, 1820 {3 Stats., 670). 
AN ACT further to regulate the Medical Department of the Army. 

That the apothecary-general and assistant apothecaries-general shall 
severally give bonds to the United States, with good and suilicient 
security, for the faithful performance of their duties, in such sums as 
shall be required l)y the Surgeon-General of the Army, under the 
direction of the War Department. 

Act of March ^, 1821 (3 Sta.ts., 615). 

AN ACT to reduce and lix the military peace establishment of the United States. 
■55- * ■ * 

Sec. 10. That the Medical Department shall consist of one Surgeon- 
General, eight surgeons, with the compensation of regimental sur- 
geons, and forty-five assistant surgeons, with the compensation of post 
surgeons. 



Act of March 3, 1825 (^ Stats., 127). 
AN ACT to authorize the sale of unserviceable ordnance, arms, and military stores. 

That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, author- 
ized to cause to be sold any . . . military stores, or . . . med- 
ical supplies, which, upon proper inspection or survey, shall appear to 
be damaged or otherwise unsuital)le for the public service, whenever, 
in his opinion, the sale of such unserviceable stores will be advantageous 
to the public service. 

Sec. 2. That the inspection or survey of unserviceable stores shall 
be made by an inspector-general, or such other officer or officers as the 
Secretary of War may appoint for that purpose; and the sales shall 
be made under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the 
Secretary of War. 



THE MEDICAL DEPAETMENT. 411 

Act of June 28, 1832 (^ Stats., 550). 

AN ACT to increase the number of surgeons and assistant surgeons in the Army of 

the United States. 

That the President be, and he is hereby, authorized, by and with the 
advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint four additional surg-eons 
and ten additional surgeons' mates in the Army of the United States. 

Act of June SO, 183Jp (^ Stats., 71J^. 

AN ACT to in(;rease and regulate the pay of the surgeons and assistant surgeons of 

the Army. 

That from and after the passing of this act no ]ierson shall receive 
the appointment of assistant surgeon in the Army of the United States 
unless he shall have been examined and approved b}^ an army medical 
board, to consist of not less than three surgeons or assistant surgeons, 
who shall be designated for that purpose by the Secretary of War; 
and no person shall receive the appointment of surgeon in the Army 
of the United States unless he shall have served at least five years as 
an assistant surgeon, and unless also he shall have been examined by 
an army medical board, constituted as aforesaid. 

Sec. 2. That the surgeons in the Army of the United States shall 
be entitled to receive the pay and emoluments of a major; and the 
assistant surgeons who shall have served five years shall be entitled to 
receive the pay and emoluments of a captain; and those who shall 
have served less than five years, the pay and emoluments of a first 
lieutenant, and that the said assistant surgeons shall be entitled to 
receive the same allowance for forage as they are at present entitled to. 

Sec. 3. That every surgeon and assistant surgeon who shall have 
served faithfully ten years in these grades, respectively, shall be 
entitled to receive an increase of rations per day equal to the number 
of rations to which he may be entitled under this act. 

Act of July Jf., 1836 {5 Stats., 117). 

AN ACT authorizing tlie ajipointment of additional paymasters, and for ot'ier 

purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 4. That the President of the United States be, and he hereby 
is, authorized and empowered to appoint three additional surgeons 
and five assistant surgeons, to be attached to the medical staff of the 

Armv. 

* * * 

Act of July 5, 1838 {5 Stats., 256). 

AN ACT to increase the present military establishment of the United States, and 

for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 12. That the stewards of hospitals at posts of more than four 
companies be hereafter allowed the pay, clothing, and rations of a 
sergeant of ordnance, and at all other posts the pay, clothing, and 
rations of the first sergeant of ;i company of infantry. 



412 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Sec. 15. That every commissioned officer of the . . . staff, 
exclusive of general officers, shall be entitled to receive one additional 
ration per diem for every five years he may have served or shall serve 
in the Army of the United States. . . . 

* * * * 

Sec. 21, That all letters and packages on public business, to and 
from . . . the Surgeon-General , . . shall be free from postage. 

* * * 

Sec. 24. That hereafter the officers of the . . . Medical Depart- 
ment of the Army shall receive the pay and emoluments of officers of 
cavalry of the same grades, respectively, according to which they are 
now paid by existing laws. 

* -x- * 

Sec. 33. That the President be, and he is hereby, authorized, by 
and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint seven addi- 
tional surgeons; and that the officers whose appointment is authorized 
in this section shall receive the pay and allowances of officers of the 
same grades, respectively. 

Act of July 7, 1838 (.5 Stats., 308). 

AN ACT supplementary to an act entitled ' 'An act to increase the present military 
establishment of the United States, and for other purposes," approved July fifth, 
eighteen hundred and thirty-eight. 

That the act to which this is a supplement shall be, and the same 
hereby is, explained, limited, and modified as follows: 

* -X- -X- 

Nintli. That the said act shall be so construed as to allow the . 
Surgeon-General of the Army the additional rations therein granted 
to officers of the line and staff for every five years' service. 

Act ofAugud 23, 18It2i {5 Stats., 512). 

AN ACT respecting the organization of the Anny, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 4. That within one month after the passage of this act the 
offices of . . ., two surgeons, and ten assistant surgeons of the 
Army shall be abolished, and that number of . . . surgeons and 
assistant surgeons shall be discharged by the President, and they shall 
be allowed three months'* pay in addition to the pay and emoluments 
to which they may be entitled at the time of their discharge. 



Act ofJwne 18, 18J^6 {9 Stats., 17). 

AN ACT supplemental to an act entitled ' 'An act providing for the prosecution of 
the existing war Vjetween the United States and the Republic of Mexico," and for 
other purposes. 

* * * • 

Sec. 6. That when volunteers or militia are called into the service 
of the United States in such numbers that the officers of the . . . 
medical depai'tments authorized by law be not sufficient to . . . 
furnishing them with the requisite medical attention, it shall be lawful 



THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 413 

for the President to appoint, with the advice and consent "of the Senate, 
as many additional officers of said departments as the service may 
require, not exceeding . . . one surgeon and one assistant surgeon 
for each regiment; . . . the said surgeons and assistant surgeons 
to perform such duties as the President shall direct: Provided., That 
the said officers, shall be allowed the same pay and emoluments as are 
noAV allowed to officers of the same descriptions and grades in those 
departments, respectiveljs that they be subject to the rules and arti- 
cles of Avar, and continue in service only so long as their services shall 
be required in connection with the militia or volunteers. 



Act ofFelruary 11, 181^7 {9 Stats., 123). 

AN ACT to raise for a limited time an additional military force, and for other 

purposes. 
-X- ■ •::■ * 

Sec. 8. That the President be, and he is hereby, authorized, by and 
with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint two additional 
surgeons, and twelve additional assistant surgeons in the Regular Army 
of the United States, subject to the provisions of an act entitled "An 
act to increase and regulate the pay of the surgeons and assistant sur- 
geons of the Army," approved June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and 
thirty-four; and that the officers whose appointment is authorized by 
this section shall receive the pay and allowances of officers of the same 
grades, respectively; and that the rank of the officers of the Medical 
Department of the Army shall be arranged upon the same basis which 
at present determines the amount of their pay and emoluments: Pro- 
vi.ded, That the medical officers shall not, in virtue of such rank, be 
entitled to command in the line or other staff departments of the Army. 
■^ * * 

Jul;/ 10, 1848 {9-246). — Provisions of pension laws construed to apply to enlisted 
men in the several corps of the Army. 

Act of July 19, I8J48 {9 Stats., 2Ji7)- 

AN ACT to amend an act entitled "An act supplemental to an act entitled 'An 
act providing ior the prosecution of the existing war between the United States 
and the Republic of Mexico,' " and for other purposes. 

* * -X- 

Sec. 3. That so much of said act passed on the eleventh of February, 
one thousand eight hundred and forty-seven, as requires the discharge 
at the close of the war with Mexico of two additional surgeons and 
twelve additional assistant surgeons, as authorized by the eighth sec- 
tion of said act, . . . be, and the same is hereby, repealed: P7'o- 
vldcd. That no vacancy happening under the provisions so repealed shall 
be filled up until further authorized by law. 



Act of March 2, ISJfi {9 Stats., 351). 

AN ACT to provide for an increase of the medical staff and for an additional number 
of chaplains of the Army of the United States. 

That so much of section third of an act entitled "An act to amend 
an act entitled 'An act supplemental to an act entitled an act providing 
for the prosecution of the existing war between the United States and 



414 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENEEAL STAFF OF U. S. AEMY. 

the Republic, of Mexico, and for other purposes,'" approved July 
nineteenth, eighteen hundred and forty-eight, as prevents the tillhig of 
vacancies in the Medical Department of the Army, until further 
authorized by law, be, and the same is hereby, repealed. 

Sec. 2. That the medical staff of the Army be increased by the 
addition of ten assistant surgeons, to be appointed as provided by 
existing laws and the regulations made under them. ■ 

* * * 

September 28, 1850 (9-504). — Moneys received from the sale of military stores and 
other supplies exempted from operation of act of March 3, 1849, requiring certain 
moneys to be paid into the Treasury A\'ithout abatement or reduction. 

Act of March 3, 185 1 {9 Stats., 695). 

AN ACT to found a military asylum for the relief and support of invalid and dis- 
abled soldiers of the Army of the United States. 



That . . . the Surgeon -General . . . shall be ex officio 
commissioners of the same, . 



Act of August 16, 1856^ {11 Stats., 51). 

AN ACT providing for a necessary increase and better organization of the Medical 
and Hospital Department of the Army. 

That there be added to the Medical Department of the Army four 
surgeons and eight assistant surgeons, to be appointed in accordance 
Avith the existing laws. 

Sec. 2. That the Secretary of War be, and he is hereby, authorized 
to appoint, from the enlisted men of the Army, or cause to be enlisted, 
as many com})etcnt hospital stewards as the service may require, not 
to exceed one for each military post, and said hospital stewards to be 
mustered and paid on hospital nuister rolls as noncommissioned staff' 
officers, with the rank, pay, and emohiments of a sergeant of ordnance, 
and to be permanently attached to the Medical and Hospital Depart- 
ment, under such regulations as shall be prescribed by the Secretary 
of War. 



Act <fJune 21, 1860 {13 Stats., 64). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending 
thirtieth June, one thousand eight iumdred and sixty-one. 



Sec. 2. That there shall be added to the Medicjil Corps of the Arm}' 
four surgeons and four assistant surgeons, to be appointed in accord- 
ance with the existing laws. 



^ Section 3 allows extra pay to soldiers acting as cooks and nurses in hospitals. 



THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 415 

Act of June ^3, 1860 {12 Stats., 91). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial expenses 

of Government for the year ending the thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and 

sixty-one. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. That all purchases and contracts for supplies or services in 
any of the Departments of the Government, except for personal serv- 
ices, when the public exigencies do not require the immediate delivery 
of articles, or performance of the service, shall be made b}^ advertising, 
a sufficient time previously, for proposals respecting the same. When 
immediate delivery or performance is required by the public exigency, 
the articles or service required may be procured by open purchase or 
contract at the places and in the manner in which such articles are 
usually bought and sold, or such services engaged between individuals. 
No contract or purchase shall hereafter be made vinless the same l)e 
authorized by law or be under an appropriation adequate to its fulfill- 
ment, except in the War and Navy Departments, for clothing, subsist- 
ence, forage, fuel, quarters, or transportation, which, however, shall 
not exceed the necessities of the current year. No arms nor military 
supplies whatever, which are of a patented invention, shall be pur- 
chased, nor the right of using or applying any patented invention, 
unless the same shall be authorized b}^ law, and the appropriation 
therefor explicitly set forth that it is for such patented invention. 



Act of FSruary 21, 1861 (13 Sta^s., U?). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the naval service for the year ending the thirtieth 
of June, eighteen hundred and sixty-two. 

-X- * -X- 

Sec. 5. That the third section of the act entitled, "An act making 
appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial expenses of 
the Government for the year ending the thirtieth of June, eighteen 
hundred and sixty-one," approved June twenty-three, eighteen hun- 
dred and sixty, be and the same is hereby repealed, except so far as 
the said section prohibits the purchase of patented firearms, as to which 
the said section shall still be in force. 



Act of March 2, 1861 {12 Stats., 211t). 

AN ACT making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the 
year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and sixty-two. 

* * * 

Sec, 10. That all purchases and contracts for supplies or services in 
any of the Departments of the Govermnent, except for personal serv- 
ices, when the pul)lic exigencies do not require the immediate delivery 
of the article or articles, or performance of the service, shall be made 
by advertising a sufficient time previously for proposals respecting 
the same. When immediate delivery or performance is required by 
the public exigency, the articles or service required may be procured 



416 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

by open purchase or contract at the places and in the manner in which 
such articles are usually bought and sold, or such services engaged 
between individuals. No contract or purchase shall hereafter be made 
unless the same be authorized by law or be under an appropriation 
adequate to its fulfillment, except in the War . . . Departments, 
for clothing, subsistence, forage, fuel, quarters, or transportation, 
which, however, shall not exceed the necessities of the current year. 
And the third section of the act entitled ""An act making appropria- 
tions for the legislative, executive, and judicial expenses of the Gov- 
ernment for the 3"ear ending the thirtieth [twent3^-third] of June, 
eighteen hundred and sixty-one," shall be, and the same is hereby, 
repealed. 

Act of July m, 1861 {m StMs., 268). 

AN ACT to authorize the employment of volunteers to aid in enforcing the laws and 
protecting public property 



Sec. 3. . . . Each brigade . . . shall have . . . one 
suro-eon. 



Act of August 3, 1861 (13 Stats., 287.) 
AN ACT providing for the better organization of the military establishment. 



Sec. 2. That the President be, and he is hereb}^, authorized to 
appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, in addition 
to the number authorized by existing laws and in accordance with 
existing regulations, . . . ten surgeons and twenty assistant sur- 
geons, to have the pay, rank, and allowances, and perform the duties 
of similar officers in the present military establishment. . . . 

•X- -X- * 

Sec. 5. That there be added to the medical staff of the Army a corps 
of medical cadets, whose duty it shall be to act as dressers in the gen- 
eral hospitals, and as aml)ulance attendants in the field, under the 
direction and control of the medical officers alone. They shall have the 
same rank and pay as the military cadets at West Point. Their num- 
ber shall be regulated by the exigencies of the service, at no time to 
exceed fifty. It shall be composed of young men of liberal education, 
students of medicine, between the ages of eighteen and twentj^-three, 
who have been reading medicine for two'years, and have attended at 
least one course of lectures in a medical college. They shall enlist for 
one year, and be subject to the rules and articles of war. On the 
fifteenth day of the last month of their service the near approach of 
their discharge shall be reported to the Surgeon-General, in order, if 
desired, that they may be relieved by another detail of applicants. 

Sec. t). That in general or permanent hospitals female nurses may 
be substituted for soldiers when, in the opinion of the Surgeon-General 
or medical officer in charge, it is expedient to do so; the number of 
female nurses to be indicated by the Surgeon-General or surgeon in 
charge of the hospital. The nurses so employed to receive forty cents 



THE MEDICAL DEPAETMENT. 417 

a day and one ration in kind, or by commutation, in lieu of all emolu- 
ments except transportation in kind. 

* * * 

Sec. 14. That there may be allowed in hospitals, to be provided under 
such rules as the Surgeon-General of the Army, with the approval of 
the Secretary of War, may prescribe such quantities of fresh or pre- 
served fruits, milk or butter, and of eggs as may be necessary for the 
proper diet of the sick. 



Acd of April 16, 1862 {12 Stats., 378). 

AS ACT to reorganize and increase the efficiency of the Medical Department of 

the Army. 

That there shall be added to the present Medical Corps of the Army 
ten surgeons and ten assistant surgeons, to be promoted and appointed 
under existing laws; twenty medical cadets, and as many hospital 
stewards as the Surgeon-General may consider necessary for the public 
service; and that their pay and that of all hospital stewards in the 
volunteer as well as the regular service shall be thirty dollars per 
month, to be computed from the passage of this act. And all med- 
ical cadets in the service shall, in addition to their pa}^, receive one 
ration per day, either in kind or commutation. 

Sec. 2. That the Surgeon-General to be appointed under this act 
shall have the rank, pay, and emoluments of a brigadier-general. 
There shall be one assistant surgeon-general and one medical inspector- 
general of hospitals, each with the rank, pay, and emoluments of a 
colonel of cavahy; and the medical inspector-general shall have, under 
the direction of the Surgeon-General, the supervision of all that 
relates to the sanitary condition of the Army, whether in transports, 
quarters, or camps, and of the hygiene, police, discipline, and effi- 
ciency of field and general hospitals, under such regulations as may 
hereafter be established. 

Sec. 3. That there shall be eight medical inspectors with the ranks, 
pa}', and emoluments each of a lieutenant-colonel of cavalry, and who 
shall be charged with the duty of inspecting the sanitary condition of 
transports, quarters, and camps, of field and general hospitals, and 
who shall report to the medical inspector-general, under such regula- 
tions as may be hereafter estaV)lished, all circumstances relating to the 
sanitary condition and wants of the troops and of the hospitals, and 
to the skill, efficiency, and good conduct of the officers and attendants 
connected with the Medical Department. 

Sec. 4. That the Surgeon-General, the assistant surgeon-general, 
medical inspector-general, and medical inspector shall, immediately 
after the passage of this act, be appointed by the President, by and 
with the advice and consent of the Senate, by selection from the Med- 
ical Corps of the Army, or from the surgeons in the volunteer service, 
without regard to their rank when so selected, but with sole regard to 
qualifications. 

Sec. 5. That the medical purveyors shall be charged, under the 
direction of the Surgeon-General, with the selection and purchase of 
all medical supplies, including new standard preparations;, and of all 
books, instruments, hospital stores, furniture, and other articles 

S. Doc. 229 27 



418 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

required for the sick and wounded of the A^m3^ In all cases of emer- 
gency the}^ may provide such additional accommodations for the sick 
and wounded of the Army, and may transport such medical supplies 
as circumstances may render necessary, under such regulations as may 
hereafter be established, and shall make prompt and inmiediate issues 
u])on all special requisitions made upon them under such circumstances 
by medical officers; and the special requisitions shall consist simply of 
a list of the articles required, the qualities required, dated and signed 
by the medical officers requiring tliem. 

Sec, 6. That whenever the Inspector-General or any one of the 
medical inspectors shall report an officer of the Medical Corps as dis- 
qualified, by age or otherwise, for promotion to a higher grade, or 
unfitted for the performance of his professional duties, he shall be 
reported bj^ the Surgeon-General for examination to a medical board, 
as provided by the seventeenth section of the act approved August 
third, eighteen hundred and sixty-one. 

Sec. 7. That the provisions of this act shall continue and be in force 
during the existence of the present rebellion and no longer: Provided^ 
Jioioever^ That when this act shall expire all officers who shall have 
been promoted from the medical staff of the Army under this act shall 
retain their respective rank in the Army with such promotion as they 
would have been entitled to. 

Act of May 11^, 1862 {12 Statu., 385). 

AN ACT to facilitate the discharge of enlisted men for i>hysieal disability. 

That the medical Inspector-General or any medical inspector is 
hereby authorized and empowered to discharge from the service of 
the United States any soldier, or enlisted man, with the consent of such 
soldier or enlisted man, in the permanent hospitals, laboring under 
any physical disability which makes it disadvantageous to the service 
that he be retained therein, and the certificate in writing of such 
Inspector-General or medical inspector, setting forth the existence 
and nature of such physical disabilit}^ shall be sufficient evidence of 
such dischai'ge: Provided.^ however., That every such certificate shall 
appear on its face to have been founded on personal inspection of the 
soldier so discharged, and shall specifically describe the nature and 
origin of such disability; . . . and report the same to the Adju- 
tant-General and the Surgeon-General. 

Act of May 20, 1862' (12 Stats., 4.OS). 

AN ACT to authorize the appointment of medical storekeepers and ciiaplains of 

hospitals. 

That the Secretary of War be authorized to add to the Medical 
Department of the Ami}' medical storekeepers, not exceeding six in 
number, who shall have the pay and emoluments of military store- 
keepers in the Quartermaster's Department, who shall be skilled apoth- 
ecaries or druggists, who shall give the bond and security required hy 
existing laws for military storekeepers in the Quartermaster's Depart- 
ment, and who shall be stationed at such points as the necessities of 



' Section 2 autliorizes the appointment of a chajilain to each permanent hosjiital, 
whose pay shall be the same as that of a regimental chaplain. 



THE MEDICAL DErAllTMENT. 41iJ 

the Army may require: Proolded^ That the provisions of this act shall 
remain in force only during' the continuance of the present re])ellion. 

■X- -X- -X- 

JuneS, 1SG2 {12-411). — Secretary of War to furnish officers appointed l)y him to 
make contracts, with a printed letter of instructions and l)lank forms of contracts, 
affidavits of returns, etc., to secure uniformity in such instruments. 

Act of July ^, 1862 {m Stats. ^ 602). 
AN ACT to provide for additional medical officers of the volunteer service. 

That there shall ])e appointed l)y the President, b}- and with the 
advice and consent of the Senate, forty surgeons and one hundred and 
twenty assistant surgeons of volunteers, who shall have the rank, pay, 
and emoluments of officers of corresponding grades in the Regular 
Army: ProvhlrtJ^ That no one shall be appointed to any position under 
this act unless he shall previously have been examined l)y a board of 
medical officers to be appointed by the Secretary of War, and that 
vacancies in the g'rade of surgeon shall be filled by selection from the 
grade of assistant surgeon on the ground of merit only: And provided 
further., That this act shall continue in force only during the existence 
of the present rel)ellion. 

Sec. 2. That from and after the passage of this act In-igade surgeons 
shall be known and designated as surgeons of volunteers, and shall be 
attached to the general medical staff, under the direction of the Surgeon- 
General; and hereafter such appointments for the medical service of 
the Army shall be appointed surgeons of volunteers. 

-X- * * 

July 17, 1862 {12-594) ■ — Contractors for military supplies guilty of fraud to be 
subject to the rules and regulations governing the Army. This jirovision was 
extended by section 7 of the act of July 7, 1864 (13-394), to apply to their agents 
and to all inspectors of military supplies. 

Act (fJuhj 17, 1802 {12 Stats., 597). 

AN ACT to amend tlie act calling forth the militia to execute tlie laws of the Union, 
suppress insurrections, and repel invasions, approved February twenty-eighth, 
seventeen hundred and ninety-five, and the acts amendatory thereof, and for other 
purposes. 

-X- * * 

Sec. 16. That the medical purveyors and storekeepers shall give 
bonds in such sums as the Secretary of War may require, with security 
to be approved by him. 

Act ofDcconhcr 27, 1862 {12 Stats., 633). 

AN ACT to facilitate the discharge of disabled soldiers from the Army, and the 
inspection of convalescent camps and hospitals. 

That there shall be added to the present Medical Corps of the Army 
eight medical inspectors, who shall, immediately after the passage of 
this act, be appointed by the President, by and with the ad\ ice and 
consent of the Senate, without regard to their rank when so selected, 
})iit with sole regard to qualifications, and who shall have the rank, 
pay, and emoluments now authorized by law to officers of that grade. 



420 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Sec. 2» That the officers of the medical inspector's department shall 
1)6 charged, in addition to the duties now assigned to them by existing 
laws, with the duty of making regular and frequent insi)ections of all 
military general hospitals and convalescent camps, aiid shall, upon such 
inspection, designate to the surgeon in charge of such hospitals or 
camps, all soldiers who may be, in their opinion, lit subjects for dis- 
charge from the service, on surgeon's certificate of disability, or suf- 
ficiently recovered to be returned to their regiments for duty, and shall 
see that such soldiers are discharged or so returned. And the medical 
inspecting officers are hereby empowered, under such regulations as 
may be hereafter established, to direct the return to duty or the dis- 
charge from the service, as the case may be, of all soldiers designated 
by them. 

Act of March 3, 1S63 {12 Stats., 7Jf3). 

AN ACT to promote the efficiency of the Corps of Enghieers and of the r)r(huince 
Department, and for other purposes. 



Sec. 8. That the officers of the Medical Department shall unite with 
the line officers of the Army, under such rules and regulations as shall 
be prescribed by the Secretary of War, in supervising the cooking 
within the same as an important sanitary measure, and that said ]\Ied- 
ical Department shall promulgate to its officers such regulations and 
instructions as may tend to insure the proper preparation of the ration 
of the soldier. 



Act of March 11, 1861,. {13 Stats., 30). 

AN ACT to eHtabUnli a uniform s^■ptem of ambulances in the armies of the United 

States. 

That the medical director or chief medical officer, of each army corps 
shall, under the control of the medical director of the army to which 
such army corps belongs, have the direction and supervision of all 
ambulances, medicine, and other wagons, horses, mules, harness, and 
other fixtures appertaining thereto, and of all officers and men who 
may be detailed or employed to assist him in the management thereof , 
in the army corps in which he may be serving. 

Sec. 2. That the couunanding officer of each army corps shall detail 
officers and enlisted men for service in the ambulance corps of such 
army corps, upon the following basis, viz: One captain, who shall be 
commandant of said ambulance corps; one first lieutenant for each 
division in such army corps; one second lieutenant for each brigade in 
such army corps; one sergeant for each regiment in such army corps; 
three privates for each ambulance, and one private for each wagon; 
and the officers and noncommissioned officers of the ambulance corps 
shall be mounted: Prodded, That the officers, noncommissioned officers, 
and i)rivates so detailed for each army corps shall be examined by a 
hoard oF medical officers of such army corps as to their fitness for such 
duty; and that such as are fotind to l)e not (qualified shall be rejected 
and others detailed in their stead. 



THE MEDICAL DEPAKTMENT. 421 

Sec. 3. That there .shall be allowed and furnished to each arm}^ corps 
two-horse .unbulanecs, upon the following basis, to wit: Three to each 
regiment of infantry of five hundred men or more; two to each regi- 
ment of infanti'v of more than two hundred and less than five hundred 
men or more; and one to each regiment of infantry of less than two 
hundred men; two to each regiment of cavalry of live hundred men or 
more; and one to each regiment of cavalry of less than five hundred 
men; one to each battery of artillery, to which battery of artillery it 
shall be permanently attached; to the headquarters of each army corps, 
two such ambulances; and to each division ti'ain of ambulances, two 
army wagons; and ambulances shall be allowed and furnished to divi- 
sion brigades and commands n'ot attached to any army corps upon the 
same basis, and each ambulance shall be provided with such number of 
stretchers and other appliances as shall be prescribed by the Surgeon- 
General: Provided^ That the ambulances and wagons herein mentioned 
shall be furnished, so far as practicable, from the ambulances and 
wagons now in the service. 

Sec. 4. That horse and mule litters may be adopted or authorized 
b}" the Secretary of War, in lieu of ambulances, when judged neces- 
sary, under such rules and regulations as may be presci'ibed by the 
medical director of each army corps. 

Sec. 5. That the captain shall be the commander of all the ambu- 
lances, medicine, and other wagons in the corps under the immediate 
direction of the medical director or chief medical ofiicer of the army 
corps to which the ambulance corps belongs. He shall pay special 
attention to the condition of the ambulances, wagons, horses, mules, 
harness, and other fixtures appertaining thereto, and see that they are 
at all times in readiness for service; that the officers and men of the 
ambulance corps are properly instructed in their duties, and that their 
duties are performed, and that the regulations which may be pre- 
scribed by the Secretary of War or the Surgeon-General for the gov- 
ernment of the ambulance corps are strictly observed by those under 
his command. It shall be his duty to institute a drill in his corps, 
instructing his men in the most easy and expeditious manner of mov- 
ing the sick and wounded, and to require in all cases that the sick and 
wounded shall be treated with gentleness and care, and that the ambu- 
lances and wagons are at all times provided with attendants, drivers, 
horses, nudes, and whatever maybe necessary for their efficiency; and 
it .shidl be his duty also to see that the ambulances are not used for any 
other purpose than that for which they are designed and ordered. It 
shall be the duty of the medical director or chief medical officer of the 
army corps, previous to a march and previous to and in time of action, 
or whenever it may be necessary to use the ambulances, to issue proper 
orders to the captain for the distribution and management of the 
same, for collecting the sick and w^ounded and conveying them to their 
destination. And it shall be the duty of the captain, faithfully and 
diligently to execute such orders. And the officers of the ambulance 
corps, including the medical director, shall make such reports from 
time to time as may be reijuired by the Secretary of: War, the Surgeon- 
General, and medical director of the Army, or the commanding officer 
of the army corps in which they may be serving; and all reports to 
higher authority than the conunanding officer of the army corps shall 
be transmitted through the medical director of the Army to which such 
army corps belongs. 



422 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Sec. 6. That the lir.st lieutenant assigned to the ambulance corps for 
a division shall have complete control, under the captain of his corps 
and the medical director of the army corps, of all the ambulances, 
medicine, and other wagons, horses, mules, and men in that portion of 
the ambulance corps. He shall be the acting assistant quartermaster 
for that portion of the ambulance corps, and will receipt for and be 
responsible for all the property belonging to it, and be held responsi- 
ble for anv deliciency in anything appertaining thereto. He shall have 
a traveling cavalry forge, a blacksmith, and a saddler, who shall be 
under his orders, to enable him to keep his train in order. He shall 
have authority to draw supplies from the depot ([uartermaster upon 
requisitions approved by the captain of Eis corps, the medical director, 
and the commander of the army corps to which he is attached. ^ It shall 
be his duty to exercise a constant supervision over his train in every 
particular, and keep it at all times ready for service. 

Sec. 7. That the second lieutenant shall have command of the portion 
of the ambulance corps for a brigade, and shall be under the inunediate 
orders of the first lieutenant, and he shall exercise a careful supervision 
over the sergeants and privates assigned to the portion of the ambu- 
lance corps for his l)rigade; and it shall be the duty of the sergeants 
to conduct the drills and inspections of the ambulances, under his 
orders, of their respective regiments. 

Sec. 8. That the ambulances in the armies of the United States shall 
be used only for the transportation of the sick and wounded, and, in 
urgent cases only, for medical supplies, and all persons shall be pro- 
hibited from using them, or requiring them to )>e used, for an}- other 
purpose. It shall bo the duty of the officers of the ambulance corps to 
report to the connnander of the army corps any violation of the pro- 
visions of this section, or any attempt to violate the same. And any 
officer who shall use an ambidance, or require it to be used for any 
other purpose than as provided in this section, shall for the first offense 
be publicly reprimanded l)y the commander of the army corps in which 
he may be serving, and for the second offense shall be dismissed from 
the service. 

Sec. 9. That no person except the proper medical officers, or the 
officers, nonconnnissioned officers, and privates of the ambulance corps, 
or such persons as may l)e especially assigned l)y competent military 
authority to duty with the ambulance corps for the occasion, shall be 
permitted to take or accompany sick or wounded men to the rear 
either on the march or upon the field of battle. 

Sec. 10. That the officers, nonconnnissioned officers, and privates 
of the ambulance corps shall be designated by such uniform or in such 
manner as the Secretary of AVar shall deem proper: Provided, That 
officers and men may be relieved from service in said corps and others 
detailed to the same', subject to the examination ])rovided in the second 
section of this act, in the discretion of the commanders of the armies 
in which they may T)e serving. 

Sec. 11. That it shall l)e the duty of the commander of the army 
corps to transmit to the Adjutant-General the names and rank of all 
officers and enlisted men detailed for service in the ambulance corps 
of such army corps, stating the organizations from which they may 
have been so detailed; and if such officers and men belong to volun- 
teer organizations, the Adjutant-General shall thereupon notify the 
governors of the se\'eral States in Avliich such organizations were 



THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 423 

raised of their detail for such service, and it shall be the duty of the 
commander of the army corps to report to the Adjutant-General from 
time to time the conduct and behavior of the officers and enlisted men 
of the ambulance corps, and the Adjutant-General shall forward copies 
of such reports, so far as they relate to officers and enlisted men of 
volunteer organizations, to the governors of the States in which such 
organizations were raised. 

Sec. 13. That nothing in this act shall be construed to diminish or 
impair the rightful authority of the commanders of armies, army corps, 
or separate detachments, over the medical and other officers and the 
noncommissioned officei-s and privates of their respective commands. 

April 9, 1864 (10-46). — Commanders of hospitals to afford to chaplains on duty 
thereat such facilities as may aid them in the performance of their duties. 

J7ilt/ 4, 1S64. — Hospital matrons, from, and after July 1, to receive $10 per month 
and 1 ration. 

Act ofFchruary 9.6, 1865 {13 Stats., 1,37). ■ 

AN ACT to increase the efiiciency of the Medical Cori)s of the Army. 

That the medical director of an army in the lield consisting of two 
or more army corps, and the medical director of a military depart- 
ment in which there are United States general hospitals containing 
four thousand beds or upwards, shall have the rank, pay, and emolu- 
ments of a colonel of cavalry; and the medical director of an army 
corps in the field, or of a department in which there are United States 
hospitals containing less than four thousand beds, shall have the rank, 
pay, and emoluments of a lieutenant-colonel of cavalry. But this 
increased rank and pay shall only continue to medical officers while 
discharging such special duties; and the assignments from time to time 
to such duty shall be at least two-thirds of them made from among the 
surgeons and assistant surgeons of volunteers. 

March 10, 1S66 (14-351). — Authorizes issue of blankets, bedding, etc., in the stores 
of the Surgeon-General and no longer needed to the National Home for Soldiers and 
Sailors' Orphans of Washington City. 

Jul If 14, 186G (14-364). — Surplus bedding and hospital furniture may be issued to 
families rendered homeless and destitute by fire in Portland, Me. 

July 16, 1866 (14-173). — Medical stores and attendance may be furnished to desti- 
tute refugees and freedmen. 

Ax^t of July 2S, 1866 {IJ^ Stats., 332). 

AN ACT to increase and fix the military jieace establishment of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 17. That the Medical Department of, the Army shall hereafter 
consist of one Surgeon-General with the rank, pay, and emoluments 
of a brigadier-general; one assistant surgeon-general with the rank, 
pay, and emoluments of a colonel of cavalry; one chief medical pur- 
veyor and four assistant medical purveyors with the rank, pay, and 
emoluments of lieutenant-colonels of cavalry, who shall give the same 
bonds which arc or may be required of assistant paymaster-generals of 
like grade, and shall, when not acting as purveyors, be assignable to 
duty as surgeons by the President; sixt}^ surgeons with the rank, pay, 
and emoluments of majors of cavalry; one hundred and fifty assistant 
surgeons with the rank, pay, and emoluments of lieutenants of cavalry 



424 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. AEMY. 

for the first three years' service, and with the rank, pay, and emolu- 
ments of captains of cavalry after three years' service; and five medi- 
cal storekeepers with the same compensation as is now provided by 
law; and all the original vacancies in the grade of assistant surgeon 
shall be filled by selection by examination from among the persons 
who have served as staff or regimental surgeons, or assistant surgeons 
of volunteers in th« Arm}' of the United States two years during 
the late war; and persons who have served as assistant surgeons three 
j^ears in the volunteer service shall be eligible for promotion to the 
grade of captain; and the Secretary of War is hereby authorized to 
appoint from the enlisted men of the Army, or cause to be enlisted, 
as manj hospital stewards as the service may require, to be per- 
manently attached to the Medical Department, under such regulations 
as the Secretary of War may prescribe. 

* * -x- 

Sec. 23. That the . . . Surgeon-General . . . shall here- 
after be appointed by selection from the corps to which they belong, 
and no person shall be appointed to any vacancy created by this act in 
the . . . medical . , . departments until he shall have passed 
the examination now required l)y law. 



Act of March 2, 1867 {IJ^, Stats., 

AN ACT to provide for a temporary increase of the pay of officers in the Army of the 
United States, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 5. That so nuich of the act entitled "An act to increase and fix 
the military peace establishment of the United States," approved July 
twenty-eight, eighteen hundred and sixt3^-six, as related to the promo- 
tion of assistant surgeons after three years' service shall be amended 
so as to read "And persons who have served as surgeons or assistant 
surgeons three years in the volunteer force shall be eligible for pro- 
motion to the grade of captain." 

* % * 

Marcli 2, 1867 {14-571). — Forbids payment of accounts, claims, etc., against the 
government which accrued prior to April 13, 1860, in favor of disloyal persons; this 
not to apply to claims assigned to loyal creditors of such persons in payment of debts 
incurred prior to March 1, 1861. 

March 22, 1867 (i5-.fi).— Surplus medical stores may be sold at first prices to the 
National Asylum for Disabled Volunteers. 

Besolution of 3f arch 12, 1868 {16 Stats., 260). 

A EESOLUTION providing for the issue of clothing to soldiers and others to replace 
clothing destroyed to prevent contagion. 

That the Secretary of War be, and he is hereby, authorized at any 
time, on the recommendation of the Surgeon-General of the Army, to 
order gratuitous issues of clothing to soldiers who have had contagious 
diseases, and to hospital attendants who have nursed and attended such 
soldiers, to replace the articles of their clothing which have been 
destroyed by order of the proper medical officers to prevent contagion. 

June 25, 1868 {15-254). — All distilled spirits produced during experiments for testing 
meters for the Internal-Revenue Service to be sold to the Surgeon-General for use in 
the army hospitals. 



THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 425 

Act ofJ>,/,/ ;i?7, 1868 (IS Stats., 



AN ACT making appropriations for the service of the Colunibia Institution for the 
Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb and establishing additional i-egulations for the 
government of the institution, and for other purposes. 



Sec. 6. . . . That all expenditures for the said Providence Hos- 
pital and appropriations of Congress shall be made under tne direction 
and control of tlie Surg-eon-General of the Army, whose dut}' it shall 
be to report at the December session of ever}^ Congress a full and com- 
plete statement of all expenses incurred under and by virtue of appro- 
priations made by Congress. 

Sec. Y. . . . all expenditures for the Columbia Hospital for 
Women and Lying-in Asylum shall be under the direction of the Sur- 
geon-Creneral of the Army, who shall also report to Congress at every 
December session a full and accurate account of all expenditures made 
by said asj'lum out of appropriations by Congress. . . 

March 3, 1869 {15-301). — Contract for hospital treatment of 60 transient paupers, 
etc., in Washington to be made by the Surgeon-General. [In 1872 the contract 
was to be made by the Secretary of War; in 1874 the number of transients was 
increased to 75; and since 1876 the duty was intrusted to the Surgeon-General and 
Providence Hospital designated as the institution.] 

Act of March S, 1869 {lo Stats., 315). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending 
June thirtietli, eighteen hundred and seventy, and for other purposes. 



Sec. 6. That vmtil otherwise directed by law there shall be no new 
appointments and no promotions ... in the Medical Department. 



Act of June 17. 1870 {16 Stats., 153). 
AN ACT to provide for furnishing artilieial liml)S to disabled soldiers. 

That every soldier who was disabled during the late war for the 
suppression of the rebellion, and who was furnished by the War 
Department with an artificial limb, or apparatus for resection, shall 
be entitled to receive a new limb or apparatus as soon after the pas- 
sage of this act as the same can be practicably furnished, and at the 
expiration of every five j^ears thereafter, under such regulations as 
may be prescribed by the Surgeon-General of the Army: Provided, 
That the soldier may, if he so elect, receive instead of said limb or 
api^aratus the money value thereof at the following rates, viz: For 
artificial legs, seventy-five dollars; for arms, fifty dollars; for feet, 
fifty dollars; for apparatus for resection, fifty dollars. 

Sec. 2. That the Surgeon-General shall certify to the Commissioner 
of Pensions a list of all soldiers who have elected to receive money 
comnuitation instead of limbs or apparatus, with the amount due to 
each, and the Commissioner of Pensions shall cause the same to be paid 
to such soldiers . . . 



426 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Act of March m, 181 '2 {17 Stats., 1^0). 

AN AOT to jirovide for the designation of a chief medical })urveyor. 

That the President of the United States be, and hereby is, author- 
ized to appoint by selection from the present assistant medical pur- 
veyors, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, a chief 
medical purveyor of the Army to till the vacancy now existing. Noth- 
ing- herein shall l>e construed to increase the pay of the officers 
appointed to till said vacancy. 

Mail 15, 1872 {17-117). — This act estabhshes rates of pav of liospital stewards from 
and after July 1, 1872. (See sec. 1280, R. S.) 

Act of May 28, 187 "2 {17 Stats., 16 J^). 
AN ACT to provide for furnishing trusses to disabled soldiers. 

That every soldier of the Union Army who was ruptured while in 
the line of duty during the late war for the suppression of the rebel- 
lion shall be entitled to receive a single or doul)le truss of such style 
as may be designated by the Surgeon -General of the United States 
Army as the best suited for such disability. 

Sec. 2. That application for such truss shall be made by the ruptured 
soldier to an examining surgeon for pensions, whose duty it shall be 
to examine such applicant, and for every such applicant found to have 
a rupture or hernia shall prepare and forward to the Surgeon-General 
an application for such truss, without charge to the soldier. 

Sec. 3. That the Surgeon-General of the United States Army is 
hereby authorized and directed to purchase and procure the number 
of trusses which may be required for distribution to such disabled sol- 
diers, at a price not greater than the same are sold to the trade at 
wholesale; and the cost of the same shall be paid, upon the requisition 
of the Surgeon-General, out of any moneys in the Treasury not other- 
wise appropriated. 

Act of June 8, 1872 {17 Stats., 338). 

AN ACT to amend an act entitled "An act supplementary to an act to provide for 
furnishing artificial limbs to disabled soldiers," approved June thirtieth, eighteen 
hundred and seventy. 

That the acts approved June seventeen, eighteen hundred and sev- 
enty, and June thirty, eighteen hundred and seventy, for supplying 
artificial limbs, or commutation for the same, to officers, soldiers, and 
seamen, shall apply to all officers, noncommissioned officers, enlisted 
and hired men of the land and naval forces of the United States who, 
in the line of their duty as such, shall have lost limbs or sustained 
bodily injuries depriving them of the use of any of their limbs, to be 
determined b}^ the Surgeon-General of the Army. 

* * -X- 

June 10, 1872 (17-347).— Aher June 30, 1872, control of Freedmen's Hospital is to 
be vested in the Secretary of War [presumably under the supervision of the Surgeon- 
General]. 



THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 427 

Act of March 3, 1873 {17 Stat.<t., r>82). 

AN ACT to provide for the eatablishnient of a military prison, and for its govern- 
ment. 



k5EC. 4. That the officers of the prison shall consist of ... a 
surgeon, . . . who shall l)e detailed b}^ the Secretary of War 
from the commissioned officers of the Army; . 



Remlution of Marclt '2b, 187 J4. {18 iStats., 286). 

JOINT RESOLUTION authorizing the Secretary of War to detail a medical officer 
of the Army to inquire into and report upon the causes of epidemic cholera. 

That the Secretary of War be, and he is hereby, authorized and 
directed to detail one medical officer of the Army, who shall, during 
the present year, under the direction of the Surgeon-General of the 
Army, . . . visit the towns at which cholera prevailed during 
eighteen hundred and seventy-three, or such of them as in the opinion 
of the Surgeon-General . . . may be necessary, confer with the 
health authorities and resident physicians of such towns, and collect 
as far as possible all facts of importance with regard to such epidemic, 
and shall make a detailed report of the information collected on or 
before the first day of January, eighteen hundred and seventy-five, to 
the President, to be submitted to Congress. And the Surgeon-General 
is hereby authorized and directed to report to the Secretary of War, 
for publication, such information on the subject as he may have or 
shall obtain. 

Act of June 23, 187 J^ {18 Stats., 2U). 

AN ACT reorganizing the several staff corps of the Army. 
* * * 

Sec. 4. That the Medical Department of the Army shall hereafter 
consist of one Surgeon-General, with the rank, pay, and emoluments 
of a brigadier-general; one assistant surgeon-general, and one chief 
medical purveyor, each with the rank, pay, and emoluments of a 
colonel; and two assistant medical purveyors, with the rank, pay, and 
emoluments of lieutenant-colonels, who shall give the same bonds which 
are or ma}" ])e required of assistant paymasters-general of like grade, 
and .shall, Avhen not acting as purveyors, be assignable to dut}" as sur- 
geons by the President; fifty surgeons with the rank, pay, and emolu- 
ments of majors; one hundred and fift}" assistant surgeons, with the 
rank, pay, and emoluments of lieutenants of cavalry for the first five 
years' service, and with the rank, pay, and emoluments of captains of 
cavalry after five years' service; and four medical storekeepers, with 
the same compensation as is now provided l)y law; and all the original 
vacancies in the grade of assistant surgeon shall be filled by selection 
h\ competitive examination; and the Secretary of W^ar is hereb}^ 
authorized to appoint, from the enlisted men of the Army, or cause to 
be enlisted, as many hospital stewards as the service may require, to 
be permanently attached to the Medical Department, under such regu- 



428 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

lations as the Secretary of War may prescribe. And the number of 
contract surgeons shall be limited to seventy-five, on or before the 
first day of January, eighteen hundred and seventy-five; and there- 
after no more than that number shall be employed. 
* * * 

Sec. 6. That no oflScer now in service shall be reduced in rank or 
mustered out))y reason of any provision of law herein made, reducing 
the number of oflicers in any department or corps of the staff. 

Sec. 7. That as vacancies shall occur in any of the grades of the 
. . . medical departments, no appointments shall be made to fill 
the same until the numbers in such grade shall be reduced to the 
luimbers which are fixed for permanent appointments by the provi- 
sions of this act; and thereafter the number of permanent ofiicers in 
said grades shall continue to conform to said reduced numbers, and 
ail other grades in said . . . medical departments than those 
authorized by the provisions of this act shall cease to exist as soon as 
the same shall become vacant by death, resignation, or otherwise; and 
no appointment or promotion shall hereafter be made to fill any 
vacancy which may occur therein. 

Sec. 8. That so much of section six of the act entitled "An act 
making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year end- 
ing June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy, and for other pur- 
poses," approved March third, eighteen hundred and sixty-nine, as 
applies to the . . . medical departments of the Army be, and the 
same is hereby, repealed: Provided, That this section repealing said 
section shall not apply to any of the grades of the medical . . . 
departments which are omitted or abolished by the provisions of this 
act. 

Act of January 1st, 1875 {18 Stats., 29 Jf). 

AN ACT suspending so much of the act entitled "An act reorganizing the several 
staff corps of the Army," approved June twenty-third, eighteen hundred and 
seventy-four, as applies to contract surgeons. 

That so much of the act entitled "An act reorganizing the several 
staff corps of the Arm}^'" approved June twenty-third, eighteen hun- 
dred and seventy-four, as applies to contract surgeons, be, and is 
hereby, suspended until otherwise provided by law. 

Act of June m, 1876 {19 Stats., 61). 

AN ACT to reduce the number and increase the efficiency of the medical corps of the 

United States Army. 

That the number of assistant surgeons now allowed by law shall be 
reduced to one hundred and twenty -live; that the oifice of medical stoi'e- 
keeper is hereby abolished; that from and after the passage of this 
act, in addition to the grades now allowed by law, there shall be four 
surgeons with the rank, pay, and emoluments of colonels; eight sur- 
geons with the rank, pay, and emoluments of lieutenant-colonels, to 
be promoted by seniority from the medical oflicers of the Army; that 
this act shall not be construed to deprive any medical officer or store- 
keeper now in office of his conmiission in the United States Army. 

August 15, 187G {19-203). — The Surgeon-General to prescribe regulations to govern 
the issue, once every five years, of artificial limbs or appliancegi, or commutation 
therefor, to officers and men who shall have lost a limb or sustained injuries depriv- 
mg them of the use of any of their limbs. 



THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 429 

REVISED STATUTES— 2D EDITION— 1878. 

* -X- * 

Sec. 1094. The Arm}- of the United States shall consist of— 

* * * 

The Medical Department. 

The hospital stewards of the Medical Department. 

* * * 

a hospital steward for each military post. 

* * * . 

Sec. 1127. Commanders of hospitals to afford to chaplains on duty thereat such 
facilities as may aid them in the performance of their duties. 

* -x- * 

Sec. 1168. The Medical Department of the Arm}^ shall consist of one 
Surg-eon-General, with the rank of brigadier-g'eneral; one assistant 
siirgeon-g-eneral, with the rank of colonel of cavalry; one chief med- 
ical purveyor and four assistant medical purveyors, with the rank of 
lieutenant-colonel of cavalry; sixty surgeons with the rank of major 
of cavalry; one hundred and fifty assistant surgeons, with the rank of 
lieutenant of cavalry for the first three years of service, and the rank of 
captain of cavalry after three years of service; and five medical store- 
keepers, with the rank of captain of cavalrv. All the original vacan- 
cies in tlie grade of assistant surgeon shall be filled by selection by 
examination from among the persons who have served as staif or regi- 
mental surgeons or assistant surgeons of volunteers in the Army of 
the United States during the late war. 

Sec. 1169. Officers of the Medical Department of the Army shall 
not be entitled in virtue of their raids to command in the line or in 
other staff corps. 

Sec. 1170. Assistant surgeons who have served three years as sur- 
geons or assistant surgeons in the volunteer forces shall be eligible to 
promotion to the grade of captain. 

Sec. 1171. The chief medical purveyor and the assistant medical 
purveyors ma}' be assigned by the President to duty as surgeons when 
not acting as purveyors. 

Sec. 1172. No person shall receive the appointment of assistant sur- 
geon unless he shall have been examined and approved by an army 
medical board, consisting of not less than three surgeons or assistant 
surgeons, designated by the Secretary of War; and no person shall 
receive the appointment of surgeon unless he shall have served at least 
five 3^ears as an assistant surgeon in the Regular Army, and shall have 
been examined and approved by an army medical board, consisting of 
not Jess than three surgeons, designated as aforesaid. 

Sec. 1173. The chief medical purveyor shall have, under the direc- 
tion of the Surgeon-General, supervision of the purchase and distri- 
bution of the hospital and medical supplies. 

Sec. 1174. The ofiicers of the Medical Department of the Army 
shall unite with the officers of the line under such rules and regulations 
as shall be prescribed by the Secretary of War in superintending the 
cooking done by the enlisted men; and the Surgeon-General shall pro- 
mulgate to the officers of said corps such regulations and instructions 
as may tend to insure the proper preparation of the ration of the 
soldier. 

Sec. 1175. Sucli quantities of fresh or preserved fruits, milk, but- 



430 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENEKAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

ter, and eggs as ma,y be necessary for the proper diet of the sick may 
be allowed in hospitals. They shall be provided' under such rules as 
the Surgeon-General, with the approval of the Secretary of War, 
shall prescribe. 

Sec. 1170. Every soldier of the Union Army who was ruptured 
while in the line of duty during the war for the suppression of the 
rebellion is entitled to receive a single or double truss, of such style 
as may be designated by the Surgeon-General as liest suited for his 
disability. 

Sec. 1177. Application for such truss shall be made by the ruptured 
soldier to an examining surgeon for pensions, whose duty it shall be 
to examine the applicant, and when found to have a rupture or hernia 
to prepare and forward to the Surgeon-General an application for such 
truss without charge to the soldier. 

Sec. 1178. The Surgeon-General is authorized and directed to pur- 
chase the trusses required for such soldiers at wholesale prices, and 
the cost of the same shall be paid upon the requisition of the Surgeon- 
General out of any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated. 

Sec. 1179. There shall be one hospital steward for each military 
post, who may be enlisted in that grade or appointed by the Secre- 
tary of War from the enlisted men of the Army, and shall be perma- 
nently attached to the Medical Corps, under such regulations as he 
may prescribe. 

Sec. 1180. The Secretary of War may appoint from the enlisted 
men of the Army, or cause to be enlisted, as many hospital stewards 
•as the service may require, to be permanently attached to the Medical 
Corps, under such regulations as he ma}' prescribe. 

Sec. 1181. Hospital stewards shall be graded as hospital stewards 
of the first class, hospital stewards of the second class, and hospital 
stewards of the third class. 

* * ■ * 

Sec. 1191, . . . , the chief medical purveyor and assistant med- 
ical purveyors and all storekeepers shall, before entering upon the 
duties of their respective offices, give good and suffi.cient bonds to the 
United States, in such sums as the Secretary oi War may direct, 
faithf ull}^ to account for all public moneys and property which they 
may receive. The President may at any time increase the sums so 
prescribed. ... 

* * * 

Sec. 1193. The . . . Surgeon-General . . . shall be appointed 
b}' selection from the corps to which they belong. 

Sec. 1194. Until otherwise directed by law, there shall be no new 
appointments and no promotions in the . . . medical departments. 

* * * 

Sec. 1238. Women may be employed, instead of soldiers, as nurses 
in general or permanent hospitals, at such times and in such numbers 
as the Surgeon-General or the medical officer in charge of any such 
hospital may deem proper. 

Sec. 1239. Hospital matrons and nurses may be employed in post or 
regimental hospitals in such numbers as may be necessar3\ 

* * * 

Sec. 1211. The President may cause to be sold any military stores 
which, upon proper inspection or surve}', appear to be damaged or 



THE MEDICAL DEPARTME]S^T. 431 

unsuital)lc for the pul>lic service. Such inspection or survey shall I'le 
made ))y officers desig-nated by the Secretary of War, and the safes 
shall be made under regulations prescribed by him. 

* * * 

Sec. 1277. Hospital matrons in post or regimental hospitals shall 
receive ten dollars a month, and female nurses in general hospitals 
shall receive forty cents a day. One ration in kind or hy commutation 
shall be allowed to each. 

* * * 

Sec. 1280. The monthly pay of the following enlisted men of the 
Army shall, during the tirst term of enlistment, be as follows, with 
the contingent additions thereto hereinafter provided: 

* * * 

Hospital stewards, first class, thirty dollars. 
Hospital stewards, second class, twenty-two dollars. 
Hospital stewards, third class, twenty dollars. 

Section 1281 adds |1 per month for each of the third, fourth, and fifth years of 
first enlistment, and section 1282 fixes the pay of men reenhsting at rate of pay for 
third year of first term. 

* * * 

Sec. 1295. . . . hospital matrons, and the nurses employed in 
post or regimental hospitals shall be entitled to receive one ration 
dailv. 

* * -X- 

Sec. 1298. The Secretary of War ma}'', on the recommendation of 
the Surgeon-General, order gratuitous issues of clothing to soldiers 
who have had contagious diseases, and to hospital attendants who have 
luirsed them, to replace an}^ articles of their clothing destroyed by order 
of the proper medical officers to prevent contagion. 
«■ * * 

8ec. 1304. In case of deficiency of any article of military supplies or of damage to 
such supplies, the value of the deficient articles or that of the damage, to l)e charged 
against the officer responsible unless he can show that the deficiency or damage was 
not occasioned by any fault on his part. 

* * * 

Sec. 1317. The officers of the [military] prison shall consist of 
. . . a surgeon, . . . who shall be detailed by the Secretary 
of War from the commissioned officers of the Army; . 

•X- -X- * 

Sec. 1()17. ' . . . Each brigade [of militia called into service] 
shall have . . . one surgeon, . 

* -x- * 

Sec. 3480. Forbids payment of accounts, claims, etc., against the United States 
which accrued or existed prior to April 13, 1860, in favor of disloyal persons; this 
nut to apply to claims assigned to loyal creditors of such i)ersons in payment of debts 
incurred prior to March 1, 1861. 

* * * 

Sec. 3711. All purchases and contracts for supplies or services for 
the military . . , service shall be made by or under the direction 
of the chief officer of the Department of War . . . And all 
agents or contractors for supplies or service as aforesaid shall render 
their accounts for settlement to the accountant of the proper Depart- 



432 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENEKAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

meut for which such supplies or services are required, sul^ject never- 
theless to the inspection and revision of the officers of the Treasur}-, 



Sec. 3732. No contract or purchase on behalf of the United States 
shall be made, unless the same is authorized by law or is under an 
appropriation adequate to its fulfillment, . . 

* * * 

Sec. 3747. Secretary of War to furnish officers appointed by him to make contracts, 
with a printed letter of instructions and blank forms of contracts, affidavits of returns, 
etc., to secure uniformity in such instruments. 

* * * 

Sec. 4:787. Ever}^ officer, soldier, seaman, and marine who was ais- 
abled during- the war for the suppression of the rebellion, in the mili- 
tary or naval service, and in the line of duty, or in consequence of 
wounds receiA^ed or disease contracted therein, and who was furnished 
by the War Department since the seventeenth day of June, eighteen 
hundred and seventy, with an artificial limb or apparatus since said 
date, shall be entitled to receive a new limb or apparatus at the expira- 
tion of everj' five years thereafter under such regulations as have been 
or may be prescribed hj the Surgeon-General of the Arm^-. The 
provisions of this section shall apph^ to all officers, noncommissioned 
officers, enlisted and hired men of the land and naval forces of the 
United States, who, in the line of their duty as such, shall have lost 
limbs or sustained bodily injuries depriving them of the use of an}- of 
their limbs, to be determined hj the Surgeon-General of the Armv; 
and the term of five years herein specified shall be held to commence 
in each case with the filing of the application for the benefits of this 
section. 

Sec. 4788. Ever}- person entitled to the benefits of the preceding 
section may, if he so elects, receive instead of such limb or apparatus 
the money value thereof, at the following rates, namely: For artificial 
legs, seventy -five dollars; for arms, fifty dollars; for feet, fifty dollars; 
for apparatus, for resection, fifty dollars. 

Sec. 4789. The Surgeon-General shall certify to the Commissioner 
of Pensions a list of soldiers who elect to receive money commutation 
instead of limbs or apparatus, with the amount due to each, and the 
Commissioner of Pensions shall cause the same to be paid to such 
soldiers in the same manner as pensions are paid. 

* -X- * 

Sec. 4815. . . . The Surgeon-General . . . • shall consti- 
tute a Board of Commissioners for the Soldiers' Home. 



STATUTES AT LARGE. 

ifay 4, 1880 {31-110). — Subsistence supplies may be sold to hospitals at cost prices, 
not inchiding cost of transportation, upon the certificate of the officer in charge of 
a hospital, that the supplies are necessary for the exclusive use of such hospital. 

March 3, 1882 {22-456). — Civilian employees of the army at military posts may 
purchase medical supplies, prescribed by a medical officer of the Army, at cost, with 
ten per centum added. 

March 10, 1882 {22-378). — Hospital tents may be issued for the relief of sufferers 
from the overflow of the INIississippi River. 

.June 30, 1882 {22-117). — An army and navy hospital to be erected at Hot Springs, 
Ark., on i)lans to be approved by the surgeons-general of the Army and Navy. 



THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 433 

Act of March 3, 1883 {22 Stats., 56 J,). 
'/.■ * * 

Sec. 10. Thiit the Board of Commissioners of the Soldiers' Home 
shall hereafter consist of . . . the Surgeon-General, . 



Act of July 6, 188 Jf, {23 Stat.^., 107). 

AN ACT making ajipropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year 
ending June 80th, eighteen hundred and eighty-five, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Medical Department. — . . . That officers of the Medical 
Department shall take rank and precedence in accordance with date of 
commission or appointment, and shall be so borne on the official Arm}^ 
Register: Provided, That the medical officers of the Arm}^ and con- 
tract surgeons shall, whenever practicable, attend the families of the 
officers and soldiers free of charge. 

* * X- 

March 2, 18S5 [23-339). — -Provides for the erection of a building to contain the 
records, library, and museum of the medical department of the Army. 

Act of March i, 1887 {U Stats., J^.%5). 

AN ACT to organize the Hospital Corps of the Army of the United States, to define 

its duty, and fix its pa3^ 

That the Hospital Corps of the United States Army shall consist of 
hospital stewards, acting hospital stewards, and privates; and all 
necessary hospital services in garrison, camp, or lield (including ambu- 
lance service) shall be performed b}^ the members thereof, wlio shall 
be regularly enlisted in the military service; said corps shall be per- 
manently attached to the Medical Department, and shall not be included 
in the efl'ective strength of the Army nor counted as a part of the 
enlisted force provided b}' law. 

Sec. 2. That the Secretary of War is empowered to appoint as many 
hospital stewards as, in his judgment, the service may require, but not 
more than one hospital steward shall be stationed at any post or place 
without special authority of the Secretary of War. 

Sec. 3. That the pay of hospital stewards shall be forty-tive dollars 
per month, with the increase on account of length of service as is now 
or may hereafter be allowed b}" law to other enlisted men. They shall 
ha\'c ]-ank with ordnance sergeants and be entitled to all the allowances 
pertaining to that grade. 

Sec. -i. That no person shall be appointed a hospital steward luiless 
he shall have passed a satisfactory examination before a board of one 
or more medical officers as to his qualifications for the position, and 
demonstrated his fitness therefor by service of not less than twelve 
months as acting hospital steward; and no person shall be designated 
for such examination except by written authority of the Surgeon- 
General. 

Sec. 5. That the Secretary of War is empowered to enlist or cause 
to ])e eidisted as many privates of the hospital corps as the service 
may re([uire, and to limit or fix the number and make such regula- 

S. Doc. 229 28 



434 LEGISLATIVE flISTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

tions for their government as may be necessary; and any enlisted man 
in the Army shall be eligible for transfer to the hospittd corps as a 
private. The}" shall perform duty as ward masters, cooks, nurses, 
and attendants in hospitals and as stretcher bearers, litter l^earers, 
and ambulance attendants in the field, and such other duty as may by 
proper authority be required of them. 

Sec. 6. That the pay of privates of the hospital corps shall be 
thirteen dollars per month, with the increase on account of length of 
service as is now or may hereafter be allowed by law to other enlisted 
men. They shall be entitled to the same allowances as a corporal of 
the arm of the service with which on dutv. 

Sec. 7. That privates of the hospital corps may be detailed as acting 
hospital stewards by the Secretary of War, upon the recommendation 
of the Surgeon-General, whenever the necessities of the service require 
it; and while so detailed their pay shall be twent3'-five dollars per 
month, with increase as above stated. Acting hospital stewards, when 
educated in the duties of the position, may be eligible for examination 
for appointment as' hospital stewards, as above provided. 
* * * 

March 2. 1889 {25-825). — Maximum smn to be allowed contract surgeons when 
traveling on duty, fixed at four cents per mile, and in addition thereto, when the 
Quartermaster's Department can not furnish transportation, the cost of same actually 
paid by them exclusive of sleeping or ])arlor car fare and transfer. 

March 3, 1891 {26-1103). — Artificial limbs to be furnished every three years. 

Act of July 13, 1892 {27 Stats., 120). 

AN ACT to amend the act approved March first, eighteen hundred and eighty-seven, 
relating to the hospital corps of the Army. 

That section six of the act approved March first, eighteen hundred 
and eightj^-seven, entitled "An act to organize the hospital corps of 
the Army of the United States, to define its duty and fix its pay," be, 
and hereby is, amended to read as follows: 

"Sec. 6. That the pay of privates of the hospital corps shall be 
eighteen dollars per month, with the increase on account of length of 
service as is now or may hereafter be allowed by law to other enlisted 
men. They shall be entitled to the same allowance as a corporal of 
the arm of service with which they may be on duty." 

July 16, 1892 {27-174). — Sec. 3709, E. S., requiring advertisement before purchase, 
not to apply to purchase of medicines and medical supplies. 

Act of July 27, 1892 (27 Stats., 276). 

AN ACT Id define the grade of certain medical officers of the Army, and for other 

purposes. 

That from and after the passage of this act the grade of certain 
medical officers of the Army below that of Surgeon -General shall be as 
follows: Those holding the rank of colonel, assistant surgeon-generals; 
those holding the rank of lieutenant-colonel, deputy surgeon -generals. 

Sec. 2. That before receiving the rank of captain of cavalry, 
assistant surgeons shall be examined under the provisions of an act 
approved October first, eighteen hundred and ninet}', entitled "'An 



THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 435 

act to provide for the examination of certain officers of the Army and 

to regulate promotions therein." 

Sec. 3. That medical officers of the Army may be assigned bj' the 

Secretar}' of War to such duties as the interest of the service may 

demand. 

* * * 

August 5, 1892 [27-348). — Honorably discharged nurses who were employed by 
the Surgeon-General, who served for six months or more in any general hospital, 
entitled to pension if unable to earn a support. 

Act of March 29, 189 Jf. {28 Stafs., ^7). 

AK ACT tf) regulate the making of property returns by officers of the Government. 

That instead of forwarding to the accounting officers of the Treasury 
Department returns of pul)lic property intrusted to the possession of 
officers or agents, . . . the Surgeon-General, . . . shall 
certify to the proper accounting officer of the Treasur}- Department, 
for debiting on the proper account, any charge against any officer or 
agent intrusted with public propert}^ arising from an}" loss, accruing 
by his fault, to the Government as to the property so intrusted to 
him. 



Act ofAw/ust 6, 1894, (^'? Stat.^., 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety -five, and for other purposes. 

* -X- x- 

Medical Department: . . . Promded^ That hereafter no appoint- 
ments shall be made to the office of assistant surgeon until the number 
of assistant surgeons shall be reduced below one hundred and ten, and 
thereafter the number of officers in that grade in the Medical Depart- 
ment shall be fixed at ninet}-. 

* * * 

. . . Promded further, . . . that purchases may be made in 
open market in the manner common among business men when the 
aggregate amount required does not exceed two hundred dollars, l^ut 
everv such purchase shall be immediately reported to the Secretary 
of War. 



Art nf Au<i>ixt 18, 1894 (^28 Stffts.. :i7S). 

AX ACT making a]>propriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for 
the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-five, and for 
other purposes. 

* * * 

WAR DEPARTMENT. 

That the proviso in the paragraph for the Medical Department under 
title "For pay of the general statf" in the act making appropriations 
for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending rlune thirtieth, 
eighteen hundred and uinetj^-tive, and for other purposes, approved 



436 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

August sixth, eighteen hundred and ninety-four, is hereb}'' amended 
so as to read as follows: Provided., That hereafter no appointments 
shall be made in the office of assistant surgeon until the number of 
assistant surgeons shall V)e reduced below one hundred and ten, and 
thereafter the number of officers in that grade in the Medical Depart- 
ment shall be fixed at one hundred and ten. 



Act of March 16, 1896 {29 Stats., 60). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending 

June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-seven. 

* * * 

FOR PAY OF ENIilSTED MEN. 



. . . : Provided, That there shall be no appointment^ of hospital 
stewards until the number of hospital stewards shall be reduced below 
one hundred, and thereafter the number of such officers shall not 
exceed one hundred. 

* * * 

June 11, 1896 {29-413). — Authorizes the Medical Department to sell medical and 
hospital supplies at its contract prices to the National Home for Disabled Volunteers. 

May 21, 1897 {80-220). — Authorizes purchase of medicines for the relief of destitute 
citizens of the United States in Cul^a. 

June 4, 1897 {30-11). — Authorizes the Medical De])artment to sell medical and hos- 
pital supplies at its contract prices to the Soldiers' Home in the District of Columbia. 

Act of April 22, 1898 {30 Stats., 361). 

AN ACT to provide for temporarily increasing the military establishment of the 
United States in time of war, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 10. That the staff of the commander of an army corps shall 
consist of . . . one chief surgeon, who shall have . . . the 
rank of lieutenant-colonel. . . . The staff of the commander of a 
division shall consist of . . . one chief surgeon, who shall have 
. . . the rank of major. . . . The staff of the commander of a 
brigade shall consist of . . . one surgeon . 



Act of May m, 1898 {30 Stats., 1^06). 
AN ACT to increase the number of surgeons in the United States Army. 

That the number of medical officers of the Army be increased ]>y 
the addition of fifteen assistant surgeons with the rank of first lieu- 
tenant, to be appointed after examination by an army medical exam- 
ining board, in accordance with existing regulations. 

Sec. 2. That in emergencies the Surgeon-General of the Army, with 
the approval of the Secretary of War, may appoint as many contract 
surgeons as may be necessary, at a compensation not to exceed one 
hundred and fifty dollars per month. 

May 18, 1898 {30-419). — Prescribes mode of issuing medical stores to destitute 
inhabitants of Cuba. 



THE MEDICAL DEPAETMENT. 437 

Act of June 2, 1898 {30 Stats., 4.28). 

AN ACT to suspend certain provisions of law relating to hospital stewards in the 
United States Army, and for other purposes. 

That all provisions of law limiting the number of hospital stewards 
in service at an}^ one time to one hundred, and requiring that a person 
to be appointed a hospital steward shall first demonstrate his fitness 
therefor by actual service of not less than twelve months as acting 
hospital steward, . . . be, and the same are hereby, suspended 
during the existing war: P/'ovided, That the increase of hospital 
stewards under this act shall not exceed one hundred. 

Act of March ^, 1899 {30 Stats., 977). 

AN ACT for increasing the efficiency of the Army of the United States, and for 

other purposes. 

That from and after the date of approval of this act the Army of 
the United States shall consist of . . . a Medical Department, 



Sec. 7. That the . . . Medical Department, . . . shall 
consist of the ofiiccrs and enlisted men now provided by law: . . . 

* * * 

Sec. 1-i. That the President is hereby authorized to continue in 
service or to appoint, l)y and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
officers of the volunteer statt' as follows: 

-X- * * 

Thirt3-four surgeons with the rank as major. 

* * * 

February 8, 1900 {31 ). — Authorizes construction of a modern military hospital 

at Fort Leavenworth, Kans. 

Mtiji 26, 1900 (31 ). — Additional hospital stewards, not to exceed an additional 

one hundred, may be appointed; no more than one to be stationed at one post or 
station without special authority of the Secretary of War. 

Act ofFchruary 2, 1901 {31 Stats., — .) 

AN ACT to increase the efficiency of the permanent military establishment of tlie 

United States. 

That from and after the approval of this act the Army of the United 
States . . . shall consist of ... a Medical Department. . . . 

Sec. 18. That the Medical Department shall consist of one Surgeon- 
General with the rank of brigadier-general, eight assistant surgeons- 
general with the rank of colonel, twelve deputy surgeons-general with 
the rank of lieutenant-colonel, sixty surgeons with the rank of major, 
two hundred and forty assistant surgeons with the rank of captain or 
first lieutenant, the Hospital Corps, as now authorized by law, and the 
Nurse Corps: Provided, That all vacancies in the grades of colone*, 
lieutenant-colonel, and major created or caused by this section shall be 
filled ])y promotion according to seniority, subject to the examination 
now prescri]>ed by law: A )id provided. That the period during which 
an\' assistant surgeon shall have served as a surgeon or assistant sur- 



488 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

geou in the Volunteer Army during- the war with Spain or since shall 
be counted as a portion of the five years' service required to entitle 
him to rank of captain: Jind proi^lded alxo^ That nothino- in this sec- 
tion shall alfect the relative rank for promotion of any assistant sur- 
geon now in the service, or who may be hereafter appointed therein, 
as determined by the date of his appointment or commission and as 
fixed in accordance with existing- law and regulations: Provided farther^ 
That in emergencies the Surgeon-General of the Army, with the 
appro^'al of the Secretary of War, may appoint as many conti'act sur- 
geons as may l)e necessary, at a compensation not to exceed one hundred 
and fifty dollars per month. That on and after the passage of this act 
the President may appoint, for duty in the Philipi)ine Islands, fifty sur- 
geons of volunteers with the rank and pay of major and one hundred 
and fifty assistant surgeons of volunteers with the rank and pay of cap- 
tain, mounted, for a period of two years: Provided^ That so many of 
these volunteer medical officers as are not required shall be honora))ly 
discharged the service whenever in the opinion of the Secretar}^ of AVar 
their services are no longer necessary: Provided fuiiJier ^ That assistant 
surgeons in the Volunteer Army of the United States commissioned 
by the President as captains, in accordance with the provisions of an 
act for increasing the efficiency of the Army of the United States, 
and for other purposes, approved March second, eighteen hundred and 
ninety-nine, shall be entitled to the pay of a captain, mounted, from 
the date of their acceptance of such conunission, as prescribed Ijy law: 
Provided^ That the Surgeon-General of the Arnn^, with the approval 
of the Secretary of War, be, and he is hereby, authorized to employ 
dental surgeons to serve the officers and enlisted men of the Regular 
and Volunteer Army, in the proportion of not to exceed one for every 
one thousand of said Army, and not exceeding thirty in all. Said 
dental surgeons shall be employed as contract dental surgeons under 
the terms and conditions applicable to army contract surgeons, and 
shall be graduates of standard medical or dental colleges, trained in 
the several branches of dentistry, of good moral and professional 
character, and shall pass a satisfactoiy^ professional examination: Pro- 
vided^ That three of the number of dental surgeons to be employed 
shall 1>e first appointed by the Surgeon-General, with the approval of 
the Secretary of War, with reference to their fitness for assignment, 
under the direction of the Surgeon-General, to the special service of 
conducting the examinations and supervising the operations of the 
others; and for such special service an extra compensation of sixty 
dollars a month will be allowed: Provided fiirfhrr, That dental-college 
graduates now employed in the Hospital Corps who have been detailed 
for a period of not less than twelve months to render dental service to 
the Army and who arc shown by the reports of their superior officers 
to have rendered such service satisfactorily ma}' be appointed contract 
dental surgeons without examination: Prooided^ That the Secretary 
of War be authorized to appoint in the Hospital Corps, in addition to 
the two hundred hospital stewards now allowed by law, one hundred 
hospital stewards: Provided^ That men Avho have served as hospital 
stewards of volunteer regiments or acted in that capacity' during and 
since the Spanish-American war for more than six months may be 
appointed hospital stewards in the Regular Army: And jyi'ovided fur- 
ther, That all men so appointed shall be of good moral character and 
shall have passed a satisfactory mental and physical examination. 



THE MKDTCAL DP^PARTMENT. 489 

Sec. 10. That the Nurse Corps (female) shall consist of one Super- 
intendent, to be appointed ])y the Secretary of War, who shall be a 
graduate of a hospital trainino- .school having" a course of instruction of 
not less than two years, whose term of office may bo terminated at his 
discretion, whose compensation shall be one thousand eight hundred 
dollars per annum, and of as many chief nurses, nurses, and reserve 
nurses as may be needed. Reserve nurses may be assigned to active 
duty when the emergency of the service demands, l)ut shall receive no 
compensation except when on such duty: Provided^ That all nurses in 
th(^ Nurse Corps shall l)e appointed or removed by the Surgeon-Gen- 
eral, with the approval of the Secretary of War; that they shall be 
graduates of hospital training schools, and shall have passed a satis- 
factory professional, moral, mental, and ph3"sical examination: And 
prov'idrd^ That the Superintendent and nurses shall receive transporta- 
tion and necessary expenses when traveling under orders; that the pay 
and allowances of nurses, and of reserve nurses, when on active service, 
shall l^e forty dollars per month when on duty in the United States 
and fifty dollars per month when without the limits of the United 
States. They shall be entitled to quarters, subsistence, and medical 
attendance during illness, and they may be granted leaves of absence 
for thirty days, with pay, for each calendar j^ear; and, when serving 
as chief nurses, their pay may be increased by authority of the Secre- 
tar}^ of War, such increase not to exceed twenty-five dollars per month. 
Payments to the Nurse Corps shall be made by the Pay Department. 
* * * 

Sec. 27. That each position vacated by officers of the line, trans- 
ferred to an}' department of the staff for tours of service under this 
act, shall be filled by promotion in the line until the total numJjor 
detailed equals the numl)er authorized for duty in each staff' depart- 
ment. Thereafter vacancies caused by details from the line to the 
staff' shall be filled b}^ officers returning from tours of staff' duty. If 
under the operation of this act the number of officers returned to any 
particular arm of the service at any time exceeds the number authorized 
b}' law in any grade, promotions to that grade shall cease until the 
number has been reduced to that authorized. 



Vlll-THE PAY DEPARTMENT. 



441 



THE PAY DEPARTMENT. 



The earliest legislation creating- a Pay Department is the resolution 
of the Continental Congress, June 10, 1775, which provided for a Pay- 
master-General and a deputy under him, for *he Army, in a separate 
department. 

The Kevolutionary Army was disbanded November 3, 1783, but Pay- 
master-General Pierce was continued in service settling his accounts 
and as commissioner for settling the accounts of the Army. The two 
offices were united by the resolution of March 23, 1787, and after the 
death of John Pierce, in 1788, the duties of the office of Paymaster- 
General were administered by Joseph Howell, jr.. Commissioner of 
Army Accounts, until the appointment of a Paymaster of the Arni}^, 
May; 1792. 

The Pay Department, by that name, was first organized under the 
act of April 21, 1816, but a Paymaster for the Army ''to reside near 
the headquarters of the troops of the U. S." had been authorized by 
the act of May 8, 1792. 

June 27, 1775. — James Warren (Massachusetts). 

Apr. 27,1776. — William Palfrey (Massachusetts). 

Jan. 17,1771. — John Pierce (Connecticut). 

May 8, 1792.— Caleb Swan (Massachusetts). 

July 1 , 1808.— Robert Brent (District of Columbia) . 

Aug. 28, 1819.— Nathan Towson, brevet major-general, May .SO, 1848 (Maryland). 

June 1,1821. — Brig. Gen. Daniel Parker (Massachusetts). 

May 8, 1822.— Col. Nathan Towson (Maryland). 

July 20,1854. — Col. Benjamin F. Larned (Massachusetts). 

Sept. 6, 1862.— Col. (Bvt. Brig. Gen., Sept. 13, 1847) Timothy P. Andrews (District 

of Colund)ia). 
Nov. 29, 1864.— Col. (Brig. Gen., July 28,1866) Benjamin W. Brice (Virginia). 
Jan. 1, 1872.— Col. (Brig. Gen., July 22, 1876) Benjamin Alvord (Vermont). 
June 8, 1880.— Brig. Gen. Nathan D. Brown (New York). 
Feb. 17, 1882.— Brig. Gen. William B. Rochester (New York). 
Mar. 10, 1890.- Brig. Gen. William Smith (Minnesota). 
Mar. 26, 1895.— Brig. Gen. Thomas H. Stanton (Iowa). 
Jan. 'AO, 1899.— Brig. Gen. Asa B. Carev (Connecticut). 
July 12, 1899.— Brig. Gen. Alfred E. Bates (Michigan) . 

443 



THE PAY DEPARTMENT. 



JOURNALS OF THE AMERICAN (CONTINENTAL,) CONGRESS. 

June 16, 1775. 

Bewlved, . . . That there be one Paymaster-General, and a 
depiit,Y under hhn, for the Army in a .separate department; that the 
pa}^ for the Pa3^master-General himself be one hundred dollars per 
month, and for the deputy paymaster under him, fifty dollars per 
month. 

July 27, 1775. 

Resolved, That the paymaster give bond, with two sureties, in the 
sum of fifty thousand dollars for the faithful performance of his 
office. 

That the bond.be made payable to the same persons to whom the 
bonds of the Continental treasurers are payable. 

James Warren, esq., was then unanimously elected Paymaster- 
General. 

Resolved, That the paymaster in the New York Department give 
bond to the same persons as above directed, with two sureties, in the 
sum of twenty-five thousand dollars, for the faithful performance of 
his office. 

July 28, 1775. 

The Congress tHen proceeded to the election of a paymaster for the 
forces in the New York Department, when Jonathan Trumbull, jr. , esq. , 
was unanimously elected to that office. 

July W, 1775. 

Revived, That the Paymaster-General, . . . and every [one] of 
their deputies, shall take an oath trul}' and faithfully to discharge the 
duties of their respective stations. 

DeceTnber 2, 1775. 

Resol/ved, . . . That the troops in the new Arm}' be paid 
monthl3^ 

Jamiary 9, 1776. 

Resolved, . . . That the deputy paymaster-general have liberty 
to appoint under him two assistant paymasters, who shall each receive 
26 2/3 dollars per month for their trouble and services. 

445 



446 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

That all the officers and ^^oldiers in the northern department be paid 
in person by the deputy paymaster-general, or the assistants to be 
appointed b\' him in consequence of the foregoing resolve. 

Febi'iiary 15^ 1776. 

Resolved., . . . That a paymaster be appointed for the troops 
in Virginia, and that his pa^^ be 50 dollars per month. 

The Congress then proceeded to the election, and Benjamin Harri- 
son, jr., of Berkeley, was chosen. 

April 21, 1776. — Resignation of Paymaster-General Warren was accepted. 

April r/, 1776. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a Paymaster-General, in the 
room of Mr. Warren, whose resignation was accepted; and the ballots 
being taken and examined, 

William Palfrey, esq., was elected. 

May 4, 1776. — '.'The honorable the Continental Congress have been pleased to 
appoint William Palfrey, esq., to be Paymaster-General of the Army of the United 
Colonies." {Orders, General Headquarters, New York.) 

June 5, 1776. 

Resolved., . . . That the Paymaster-General and the deputy 
paymaster-general make monthly returns to Congress of their expendi- 
tures and the state of the military chests in their several departments. 

June 13, 1776. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a deputy paymaster-general 
for the eastern department, and, the ballots being taken, 
Ebenezer Hancock was elected unanimously. 

Juhj 17, 1776. 

The Congress proceeded to the election of a deputy paymaster- 
general for the flying camp, and, the ballots being taken, 
Richard Dallam, esq., was elected. 

Augmt 2, 1776. 

Resolved, . . . That the Paymaster-General and the several 
deputy paymasters-general be directed to make weekly returns to 
Congress of the state of the military chests under their direction. 

Octoher 21, 1776. 

Resolved, . . . That the rations allowed to the several officers 
on the staff in the Army of the United States, not heretofore settled, 
be as follows: ... 

To the . . . deputy paymaster-general, 6 rations. . . . 

December 24, 1779. — "The honorable the Board of War having procured a small 
supply of shirts and linen and directed the distribution of them among the officers 



THE PAY DEPARTMENT. 447 

of the . . . staff, who are not adopted by any State: the clothier-general is to 
deliver them upon returns signed hy the . . . heads of the following corps and 
departments at the rates dire(;ted by a resolve of Congress of the 25th of November 
last: . . . deputy imymaster-general." . . . (Orders, General Headquarters, 
Morrititmni.) 

January 18, 1777. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a paymaster in Baltimore, and, 
the ballots l)ein!»- taken, 

Mr. Jonathan Hudson Avas elected. 

January 30, 1777. 

Itesolved.^ . . . That the salary of . . . Jonathan Trmnbull, 
esq., deputy pa^'master-general of the northern department, be aug- 
mented to the sum of 75 dollars per month. 



April 7, 1777. 

Resolved., That the pa}' of the assistant paj^masters in the northern 
department be augmented to 40 dollars a month, and that they be 
allowed three rations a day. 

April 2, 1777. 

Resolved, That the paymaster and deputy paymaster-general, at the 
end of everj^ month after the first day of May next, shall make up 
rolls containing the names of the general and other officers of the army 
to which they respectively belong who are not comprised in the regi- 
mental abstracts, excepting only the commander in chief of the several 
departments, who shall respectiveh^ examine such rolls. 

A2>rll ,9, 1777. 

Resolved, That the paymaster and the deputy paymasters-general 
be directed forthwith to consult the commanders in chief of their 
respective districts and appoint deputies to repair to such posts and 
places of rendezvous and answer the draughts of such officers stationed 
thereat as the said commanders in chief shall respectively direct; that 
the deputies be supplied with money by the respective paymaster and 
d(^puty paymasters-general, and account with them therefor, and that 
all other paymasters of the Army cease to act at the posts and places 
provided with deputies as aforesaid. 

May ^7, 1777. 

Resolved, That the pay of the assistant deputy paymaster-general in 
the Northern Army be raised to 45 dollars per month. 

July 11, 1777. 

Resolved, That Mr. John Ba3'nton ])e appointed dc^puty paymaster- 
general to the troops and garrisons on the frontiers of Virginia and 
Pennsylvania. 



448 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Atigtist i, 1777. 

Resolved^ That a deputy paj'master-general be appointed in the said 
State of Georgia. ... 

AiKjust 6y 1777. 

Congress proceeded to the election of ... a deputy paymaster- 
general of Georgia: Whereupon, 

^cAscfee<^, That . . . Joseph Clay [be] deputy paymaster-general 
in Georsfia. 



Augmt W, 1777. 

Resolved^ That the pa}^ of the Paymaster-General be increased to 
150 dollars a month. 

That the pay of the deputy paymaster-general be increased to 75 
dollars a month. 

Augmt 28, 1777. 

Resolved., That the pay of the deputy paymaster-general of the 
Northern, Eastern, and Southern departments be augmented to 80 
dollars per month. 

That the assistants to the Paymaster-General and deputy paymaster- 
general whom they are respectively authorized to appoint, when such 
officers shall be necessary, shall receive, for the time of their actual 
service, 50 dollars a month. 

That the Paymaster-General and deputy paj^masters-general shall be 
obliged, respectively, to take bond of their respective assistants 
appointed by them for the faithful performance of their trust, in such 
penalties as the Commander in Chief or commanding officer of the 
department shall direct. 

Septeviher 10, 1777. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a paymaster for the North 
Carolina Light Horse, in the service of the continent; and, the ballots 
being taken, 

William Hardy was chosen. 

Octoher 4, 1777. 

Resolved., That every assistant appointed, or that hereafter may be 
appointed, by the deputy commissaries-general of purchases and of 
issues shall enter into a bond . . . [to be] lodged with the Pay- 
master-General or deputy paymaster-general of the district, to be by 
him transmitted to the treasury board. 

November 10, 1777. — General Gates was authorized to order the Paymaster-General 
to pay dues to officers and men for rations allowed to them but not paid, provided 
that the existinj^ regulations of the C!ommissary's Department on the subject be no 
longer dispensed with than he shall judge necessary. 



I 



THE PAY DEPARTMENT. 449 

Noveiriher '2'£, 1777. 

ReKoli)('d^ That the pay of Jonathan Trumbull, jr. , deputy paymaster- 
general of the Northern Department, be augmented to 125 dollars per 
month. 

January 13, 1778. 

Resolved., . . . That the Paymaster-General be empowered to 
appoint an assistant in his office, and a clerk for six months, in addition 
to one already employed by him. 

That 70 dollars a month and two rations a day be hereafter allowed 
to each assistant and 50 dollars a month to each clerk in the office of 
the paymaster or deput}^ paymaster-general. 

January 11^., 1778. 

Besolved, That Ebenezer Hancock, esq., deputy paymaster-general 
of the eastern district, be directed to appoint forthwith an assistant 
paymaster constantly to attend to and pay the army stationed in or 
near Providence for the defense of Rhode Island and Providence 
Plantations. ... 

February 6\ 1778. 

Resolved., . . . That the . . . paymaster and deputy pay- 
masters-general . . . be directed to send, on or before the first 
day of May next, and afterwards quarterly, to the respective auditors 
of the Army duplicate accounts of such charges [monies charged in 
their offices to persons who are to account with the respective auditors], 
and to furnish them with the necessary papers and information, when 
required, for executing their office. . . . 

Februm-y 'Bl, 1778. 

Resolved., That the pay of the person who executed those offices 
[secretary and paymaster] in the hospital in the Middle Department be 
augmented to three dollars a day. 

■X- * * 

Resolved., That the Paymaster-General be directed to consult with 
General Washington on the propriety of keeping a deputy paymaster 
at Baltimore, and if he shall judge such an officer unnecessary to inform 
Mr. Jonathan Hudson that, the public service not requiring his further 
assistance in that capacity, he is excused therefrom ])y Congress. . . . 

March HI, 177S. — "By permission of the honorable Congress the Paymaster-General 
has appointed Thomas Eeed, esq., to be his assistant. He is to be considered as 
such, and the V)nsiness of that department, in the absence of the Paymaster-General, 
is to be transacted with him." {Orders, General Headquarters, Vallei/ Forge.) 

May 2, 1778. — Coiifjjress authorized the commissioners at Fort Pitt, or in their 
absence the officer appointed to command on the western frontier, to appoint a proper 
person to perform the duties of paymaster to the militia of the counties of Rocking- 
ham, Augusta, Rockbridge, Bottetburt, Montgomery, Washington, and Greenbrier, 
iu Virginia. 

S. Doc. 229 29 



450 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

May G, 1778. 

Resolved, That William Palfrey, Paymaster-General, l)e allowed the 
additional pay of loO dollars a month from the date of this resolution 
until Congress shall otherwise order, 

Jnne 9, 1778. 

ReHolved, That the value of the rations due since the 1st of January 
last till the 1st inst. he estimated at one-third of a dollar; and that the 
officers do present their accounts to the Pa3'master-General, or deputy 
paymaster-general, who shall adjust and pay the>same, provided, ahv ays, 
that the said officers shall make oath to their accounts respectively, 
which oaths the said paymasters are hereby empowered and directed 
to administer, and transmit the said accounts, with the receipts theT«^on, 
to the Treasury. 

.Julii 29, 1778. — Paymaster Jonathan Train] mil, jr., resigned, the northern and 
southern armies being joined. 

Amjust 26, 1778. 

The committee on the Treasury report: 

That they have considered the extra services and peculiar circum- 
stances of William Bedloe, as set forth in his memorial referred to 
them, and are of opinion that he l)e allowed 35 dollars per month 
while acting as deputy paymaster to William Palfrey, esq., Paymaster- 
General, in addition to his former allowance of 50 dollars per month. 

Hesoleed, That Congress agree to the said report. 

October IS, 1778. 

Resolved, That Joseph Clay, esq., deputy paymaster-general in the 
State of Georgia, he empowered and directecl to pay into the hands of 
the deputy commissary, the deputy quartermaster, and the deputy 
clothier-general in the said State (they obtaining a warrant from the 
commanding officer in the Southern Department), such sum or sums 
of money as mav be wanting in their respective departments, each of 
them to be accountable; and that the said deputy paymaster-general 
transmit the accounts of the sums he may so advance to the several 
officers at the heads of the above-mentioned departments. 

Resolved, That the deputy conmiissary, the deputy quartermaster, 
and the deputy clothier-general in the State of Georgia, when they 
deliver their respective accounts of expenditures to the deput}^ pay- 
master-general, do cause to be specified on the receipts of the said 
accounts that the same were paid in Continental currency, and that 
the sum be fully expressed in words. 

Resolved, That the deputy paymaster-general I )e empowered and 
directed to pay the officers and men belonging to the Continental 
gallics in the State of Georgia the monthly wages that are and may be 
due to them, transmitting at the end of every month an account of the 
same to the Board of Treasury. 



THE PAY DEPARTMENT. 451 

JSfovemher ^^, 1778. 

Resolved.^ That all officers and persons employed on the staff shall 
receive for su])sistence nione}^ one-third of a dollar for each extra 
ration heretofore allowed them. 

January ^i, 1779. ' 

liesolved, That the . . . pajmiaster or deputy paymaster-g-eneral 
be authorized to provide for themselves respectivel}", from time to 
time, a convenient house near headquarters for an office; that they 
be not precluded from their choice unless by order of the Connnander 
in Chief or coumianding officer of the department, and that no other 
officers l)c (piartered therein. 

March 10\ 1779.' 

Resolved., . . . That the Quartermaster-General be authorized 
to appoint a paymaster . . . for the said corps of wag'oners which 
he was empowered to organize . 

Aj^ril 17, 1779. 

Re.^oIred, . . . That such regulations shall be established by 
the Quartermaster-General for the . . . paying- of the said corps 
of wagoners as shall be judged expedient, and approved of b}' the 
Commander in Chief. 

3fa// 11, 1779. 

Resolved, . . . That all staff officers who serv(^d with the Ai'my 
shall be allowed clothing on the same conditions as officers in the line, 
provided they engage for a year or longer. 

3fai/ 17, 1779. 

Resolved, That the commanding officer of the detachment of the 
army serving in South Carolina and Georgia l^e authorized to appoint 
a paymaster for the said legion. 

May 17, 1779. — Captain Baldesqui, the present paymaster of the troops serving in 
South Carohna and Georgia ( Count Pulaski' s legion ) was to be detained until he should 
have settled his ai-counts. As, on December 29, 1779, Congress, deeming that the cir- 
cumstances of the corps lately conunanded by General Count Pulaski did not require 
a paymaster, and therefore accepted Captain Baldesqui's resignation, itwould seem that 
the resolve of May 17 was not carried out. For want of regularity in keeping proper 
vouchers, th(> auditor of account for the main armjf had found the settlement of the 
accounts of the Pulaski legion impracticable, and, therefore. Congress passed the 
resolveof that date, but June 5, on the receipt of aletterfrom the Paymaster-General, 
it resolvi'd that the rejiort of the Committee on the Treasury of March (May?) 17 be 
reconsidered. [I have failed t(i find the report of IMarch 17, but if the proper date 
is jNIav 17, this would explain Captain Bal(les(iui ivmaining in service until Decem- 
ber 29.] 

^ This resulted from the many inconveniences to the public, as well as to indi- 
viduals, that have arisen from the distance of the paymaster's office from the quarters 
of the commanding officer. 

^The resolve of this date was repealed April 17, 1779. 



452 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF XJ. S. ARMY. 

May 22, 1779. 

Resolved, . . . Whereas the troops formerly serving in South 
Carolina and Georgia are united in one bod}^, under the same command- 
ing officer, and disorder may arise from having two military chests and 
paymasters in the same detachment of the army; and Joseph Clay, esq., 
deputy paymaster for Georgia, having represented that the money 
remaining in his hands will soon be expended, and a supply having 
been lately forwarded to John Lewis Jervais, deputy paymaster for 
South Carolina: 

Resolved, That the general commanding in South Carolina be author- 
ized and directed to draw out of the hands of the said John Lewis 
Jervais the balance which may be due from him to the public, and 
transfer it to the care of the said Joseph Clay, who shall be considered 
as the sole deputy paymaster for the troops serving in South Carolina 
and Georgia, until the further order of Congress; and that Mr. Jervais 
adjust and transmit his accounts to the Board of Treasury for settlement. 

May 29, 1779. 

Resolved, That the Paymaster-General shall keep his office in the 
place where Congress may, from time to time, hold their sessions. 

That he be allowed to employ as many clerks as shall be judged nec- 
essary for the Board of the Treasur3^ 

That he be authorized to superintend the several deputy paymasters- 
general, whose duty it shall be to make monthly returns to him and 
reasonable applications for mone}^ for the use of the Army; to follow 
his direction in the mode of keeping their accounts, and all other mat- 
ters relative to their office. 

That all accounts of advances made by any of the States, or any offi- 
cer or person whatsoever, for the pay of the Continental Army or for 
the recruiting service, shall be delivered to the deputy paymaster- 
general of the district where such advances may l)e made; and the said 
deputies are hereby directed to keep a copy of such accounts in a l)ook 
to be provided by them for that purpose, and to transmit the originals 
immediately to the Paymaster-General. 

That the Paymaster-General shall keep regular books and charge 
therein all moneys that have been or may be advanced to the deputies 
in the several departments, and when he receives their monthly returns 
shall give them credit for the same, charging the several regiments or 
persons to whom such ad^•ances have l)een made and transmitting their 
accounts to the auditors of the Army, respectively. 

That the auditors of the Army in the several districts make monthly 
returns to the Paymaster-General of the accounts settled in their office, 
particularly specifying the manner in which such accounts were bal- 
anced and the date of the settlement. 

That a deputy paymaster-genei'al ])o appointed for the army under 
the immediate command of His Excellency General Washington. 

Resolved, That it be referred to the Conuuittee on the Treasury to 
consider and report the allowances of pay to be made to the deputy 
pa^^master-general at the main army, as well as to the deputy pay- 
masters-general in the other districts, and to the clerks of the several 
deputy paymasters-general. 



THE PAY DEPARTMENT. 453 

June 7, 1779. 

The Committee on the Treasuiy havino- nominated John Pierce to 
the office of deput}" pa3'master-general to the ami}- under the imme- 
diate command of General Washington, Congress proceeded to an 
election; and the ballots being taken, 

Mr. John Pierce was chosen. 



The Committee on the Treasiay ha^'ing nominated Thomas Reed to 
the office of deputy paymaster-general at Albany-, Congress proceeded 
to the election; and the ballots being taken, 

Thomas Reed was chosen. 

August 11^ 1770. 

Resolved ., That the half pay provided by the resolution of the 15th 
of May, 17T8, l)e extended to continue for life, and that the holding of 
a civil office under the United States, or any of them, shall lie no bar 
to prevent an}' officer from receiving the same. 

August IS, 1779. 

Resoli^ed, That until further order of Congress the said officers [of 
the Arm}'] be entitled to receive monthly for their subsistence money 
the sums following, to wit: Each colonel, . . . 500 dollars; every 
lieutenant-colonel, -iOO dollars; every major, . ' . . 300 dollars; 
every captain, 200 dollars; every lieutenant, ensign, . . . 100 
dollars. 

Resolved., That until the further order of Congress the sum of 10 
dollars l)e paid to every noncommissioned officer and soldier monthly 
for their subsistence in lieu of those articles of food originally intended 
for them and not furnished. 

Septemher 16, 1779. 

A letter of this day from William Palfrey, Paymaster-General, was 
read, informing that John Baynton has resigned the office of paymaster 
for the western district, and that it is necessary another person be 
appointed to succeed him; whereupon 

Congress proceeded to an election; and the ballots being taken, 
John Bowman was elected deputy paymaster for the western district, 
in the room of John Baynton, resigned. 

Novemher 12, 1779. 

. it was resolved that William Palfrey, esq. , Paymaster-Gen- 
eral, as a further compensation for his services, be allowed the sum of 
20,000 dollars. 

Resolved, That until the further order of Congress the Paymaster- 
General to the armies of the United States be allowed at the rate of 
14,000 dollars pin' ammm. 



454 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

May J, 1780. 

JResolved, That until tlic further order of Congress the deputy pay- 
masters-general, under the Paymaster-General of the armies of the 
United States, be allowed at the rate of 8, lOths per cent on the moneys 
which they may pay out, respectively, to the Army; and that tliis 
commission have retrospect from the 29th day of May, 1779, when the 
pay office was last regulated; that the said allowance be in full pay- 
ment for the services of themselves and assistants, and in full compen- 
sation for all expenses, except one ration a day each, while at camp, 
for themselves and assistants. 

June 1J{,^ 1780. 

Sesol'ued., . . . That Major-General Gates be, and he is hereby, 
authorized to appoint ... a deputy paymaster-general . 
[for the Southern Army]. 

July 15, 1780. 

JResolved., That the following proportion of wagons and bathorses be 
allowed to the different ranks of officers, and no more, unless it be by 
order of the commander in chief or commanding officer of a separate 
army, each of whom to be allowed for themselves so many baggage 
wagons and bathorses as they may think necessary, to wit: 



Deputy paymaster, either with the main army or with a separate 
army, 1 covered 4-horse wagon. 

% * * 

Resolved., That in addition to the forage allowed for the wagon and 
bathorses by these regulations, there be issued . . . : 
To a . . . deputy paymaster, one; . 

November 4, 1780. — Dr. William Palfrey, late Paymaster-General, was elected c'on- 
sul, to reside in France. 

January 17., 1781. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a Paymaster-General of the 
Army; and, the ballots being taken, 

Mr. John Pierce was elected, having been previously nominated bv 
Mr. Clarke. 

September 26, 1781. 

Resolved, That the superintendent of finance be authorized and 
directed to ascertain the value of a ration, from time to time, and cer- 
tify the same to the Paymaster-General, who shall govern himself 
accordingly in settling with the officers. 

January 1, 1782. — "The Paymaster-General or his deputy will, at the close of every 
month, settle with the contractors [supplying the troops with provisions], and after 
paying them for such articles as the officers have drawn, pay each otHcer . . . the 
balance due him." {Orders, General Headquarters, PlnUtdelplilu.) 



THE PAY DEPARTMENT. 455 

Jamidnj 16^ 17S'-2. 

Resolmd^ That in the settlement of the accounts of such officers of 
the hospital and medical department as are entitled to an allowance 
for depreciation by any resolution of Congress, the establishment of 
pay made upon the 8th day of April, 1777, be considered as specie. 

April 8, 1782. 

Resolved, That . . . the Secretary at War . . . issue his 
warrants on the Paymaster-General, in favour of each regimental pay- 
master, for the pa}' and rations which shall appear on adjustment of 
their accounts to be due to the regiments, respectively, . . . ; 
that the accounts for the pay and rations of each regiment, , , . , 
from Jamiary 1, 178^, shall be made out at the end of every month 
and bo transmitted to the war office for examination and warrants; 

That the manner of making the payments, of keeping the accounts 
and the returns of the regimental paymasters be regulated hy the 
Secretary at War; 

That the Paymaster-General shall pay on the warrants of the Secre- 
tary at War from such monies as shall be put into his hands for the 
pay and rations of the troops, and to the orders of the conuuander in 
chief, or officer commanding the Southern Army, from such monies as 
shall be placed in his disposal for contingencies. 

licsolved^ That all resolutions heretofore passed empowering gen- 
eral officers to draw warrants on the Paymaster-General, except that 
empowering the officer commanding the Southern Army, be, and the 
same are hereby, repealed. 

Resolved^ That there be one deput}' paymaster for the Southern 
Army; 

That there shall be one assistant allowed to the Paymaster-General, 
who shall do the duties of a clerk; 

That the Paymaster-General be, and he is hereby, authorized to 
appoint his deputy and assistant; 

That the Paymaster-General immediately give bonds, with two sure- 
ties, to the superintendent of finance, in the sum of 15,000 dollars, for 
the faithful performance of his office. 

A2)ril 22, 1782. 

Re-solved, That from and after the first day of May next all resolves 
of Congress heretofore passed relative to rations, subsistence, or allow- 
ances to officers over and above their pay and what they are enticed 
to from the Quartermaster's Department, . . . be, and they are 
JKn-eb}', repealed; that from and after the first day of May next each 
officer shall be entitled to draw daily the number of rations, . . . 
ailixed to their several ranks, viz: 

* -X- -:;- 

Deputy paymaster, with tlu^ Southern Army, li rati()n^i per day; 11 
dollars per month. 

April 2:i, 1782. 

Resolved, That the supermunerarv junior lieutenants, beyond the 
munber of ten in each regiment of infantry, be reduced; . 
except such of them as shall accept of appointments in the staff 



456 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

departments, with the approbation of the heads of the respective 
departments, in which case they shall severally retain their respective 
ranks in the Army and ))e entitled to the full pay and sub.sistence be- 
long-ing to their rank in the line as a compensation for their respective 
services in the staff, without any other allowance whatsoever; . . . 

May 16, 1782. 

Resolved, That the Paymaster-General be, and he is hereb}^ author- 
ized to appoint a deputy paymaster to residii with the Main Arni\ . 

Octoher 23, 1782. 

Resolved, . . . That the following- be the proportion of wagons 
and bathorses to the different ranks of officers, . . . : 
* * * 

Deputy paymaster with the Main and Southern Army, each, one 
two-horse-wagon. 

* * * 

That there shall ])e allowed for saddle horses: 

* y- * 

Deputy paymaster 1 lation. 



Novemler 20, 1782. 

Ordered, That the Paymaster-General furnish the Secretary at War, 
from time to time, as they may be called for by him, with the accounts 
of all pay and advances received by or chargeable to the officers and 
men of the several regiments in the service of the United States. 

June 5, 1783. — "The paymasters or agents of regiments, as soon as they have fin- 
ished the accounts of their own corps, are requested to attach themselves to the 
Paymaster-General if they can make it convenient, and to assist in completing the 
general settlement as soon as possible." {Orderx, General Headquarters, Neivburgh.) 

July U, 1783. 

Resolved, That the Paymaster-General be, and he is hereby, fully 
authorized and empowered to settle and finally adjust all accounts 
whatsoever between the United States and the officers and soldiers of 
the American Army, so as to include all and every demand which they 
or either of them may have by virtue of the several resolutions and 
acts of Congress relating thereto. 

Septemler 10, 1783. 

Resolved, That the Secretary at War inform the Paymaster-General 
that brevet commissions do not entitle to pa}^ or emoluments, unless 
the same be expressed in the resolution granting such commissions. 

Jmie 1, 178Ji.. 

Resolved, That in settling the accounts of the deputy pavmasters in 
the main and southern armies, who are appointed in pursuance of the 
act of the 8th of April, 1782, they be allowed at the rate of 75 dollars 
per month while they were in service, including such advances as have 
been made under the head of subsistence or otherwise. 



THE PAY DEPARTMENT. 457 

Augnst 3, 1785. 

Unsolved., That the Paj'mastor-General be, and he is hereb}', directed 
to settle with the widows and orphans of officers who did not belong 
to an}^ of the Ignited States, entitled to 7 3^ears' half pay, under the 
resolution of August 24, 1780, and to issue to them certiticates therefor. 

March r^, 1787. 

Resolved., That the services and duties of the Pa3'master-General be, 
and hereb}' are, united with, those of the connnissioner of arni}^ 
accounts, and that the said commissioner, after the expiration of the 
present quarter, be allowed, in full for his services as commissioner 
and Paymaster-General, a salary at the rate of 1,250 dolhirs annually. 

Octohrr 2, 1788. 

The committee, consisting of Mr. Howard, ]VIr. Few, Mr. Drayton, 
Mr. Gilman, and Mr. Carrington, appointed to make full enquiry into 
the proceedings in the Department of War, beg leave to report, and 
to present to the view of Congress a summary statement of the various 
branches of the Department of War. 

* * * 

3rd — OF THE PAY OF THE TROOPS. 

The troops have generally been paid up to the 1st of January, 1787, 
and the officers have had their subsistence and forage money paid up 
to the 1st of April, 1788. Both officers and soldiers appear well satis- 
fied in this respect. But as about 200 noncommissioned officers and 
privates will ))e discharged during the present 3'ear, it will be neces- 
sary that the Treasury Board devise some mode to make them satisfac- 
tory payment. The balance due the troops to the 1st da}' of July is 
estimated at 65,000 dollars. 

STATUTES AT LARGE. 

Act of May <y, 1792 (1 Stats., 279). 

AN ACT making alterations in tlie Treasury and War Departments. 
* * * 

Sec. 3. That there be a paymaster to reside near the headquarters 
of the troops of the United States. That it shall be the duty of the 
said paymaster to receive from the Treasurer all the moneys which shall 
be intrusted to him for the purpose of paying the pay, the arrears of 
pay, subsistence, or forage due to the troops of the United States. That 
he shall receive the pay abstracts of the paj'masters of the several regi- 
ments or corps, and compare the same with the returns or muster rolls 
which shall accompany the said pay abstracts. That he shall certify 
accurately to the commanding officer the sums due the respective 
corps, which shall have been examined as aforesaid, who shall thereon 
issue his warrant on the said deputy paymaster for the payment accord- 
ingl3\ The copies of all reports to the commanding officer, and the 
warrants thereon, shall be duly transmitted to the office of the account- 



458 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENEKAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

ant of the War Departuicnt, iu order to l)e there examined and finally 
adjusted at the Treasury. I'iiat the said pa3^niaster shall give bond in 
the sum of twenty thousand dollars, with two sufficient sureties, for the 
faithful discharge of his duty, and he shall take an oath faithfully to 
execute the duties of his office. That the compensation to the said 
paymaster shall l)e sixty dollars monthly, with the same rations and 
forage as a major. 



Act of 3 fay SO, 1790 (1 Stats., JtBS). 

AN ACT to ascertain and tix the militai\y establishment of the United States. 

% * -::■ 

8eo. 3. That ther(i shall l)e . . . one Paymaster-General . . . 

* * -X- 

Sec. 12. That the monthly pay of the officers . . . of the 

railitary establishment be as follows: . . . Paymaster-General 

. in addition their pay in the line, twenty-five dollai's . 

Sec. 13. That the commissioned officers aforesaid shall be entitled 

to receive for their daily subsistence the following number of rations 

of provisions: . . . paymaster-generals, . . . six rations, 

. or money in lieu thereof, at the option of said officer, at the 

posts, respectively, where the rations shall become due; and if at 

such post supplies are not furnished l)y contract, then stich allowance 

as shall l)e deemed equitable, having reference to former contracts 

and the position of the place in question. 

Sec. 11. That the officers hereinafter described shall, whenever 
forage shall not be furnished by the public, receive at the rate of the 
following enumerated sums, per month, instead thereof, to wit: 
. paymaster-generals . . . twelve dollars . . 
* * % 

Spx'. 23. That the general staff as authorized ])v this act shall con- 
tinue in service until the 1th day of next March, and no longer. 

Act of March 3, 1797 {1 AStats., 507). 

AN ACT to amend and rei)eul, in ]iart, the act entitled "An act to ascertain and fix 
the military esta)>lishment of the United States." 



Sec. 3. That there shall l)e one . . . Paymaster-General, who 
shall receive the same pay and emoluments, . . . heretofore 
allowed bv law. 



Act of May 2S, 179H (1 Stats., 56S). 
AN ACT anthorizing the President of the United States to raise a provisional armj\ 



Sec. T. That in case the President shall judge the employment of a 

. Paymaster-General . . . essential to the public interest, 

he is hereby authorized, by and with the advice and consent of the 



THE PAY DEPARTMENT. 459 

Senate, to appoint the same accordino-ly, who .shall be entitled to the 
rank, pay, and emolmnents which follow, viz: . . . Paymaster- 
General . . . the pay and emoluments of a lieutenant-colonel: 
Pi'cyvlded^ That in case the President shall judge it expedient to 
appoint a . . . Paymaster-General . . . in the recess of the 
Senate, he is hereby authorized to make . . . said appointments 
and grant commissions thereon, which shall expire at the end of the 
next session of the Senate thereafter. 

* * * 

Sec. 9. That the . . . Paymaster-General . , . who may 
be appointed l\v virtue of this act shall . . . continue in commis- 
sion during such term only as the President shall judge requisite for 
the public service; . . . 

Sec. 10. That no . . . staff officer who shall be appointed by 
virtue of this act shall be entitled to receive pay or emoluments until 
he shall be called into actual service, nor for any longer time than he 
shall continue therein. 



Act of March 3, 1799 (1 Stats., 7p). 

AN ACT for the better organization of the troops of the United States, and for other 

purposes. 

* •» * 

Sec. 1.5. That the Paymaster-General of the armies of the United 
States shall always quarter at or near the headquarters of the main 
army, or at such place as the Commander in Chief shall deem proper; 
and that, to the army on the Western frontiers and to detaclimeuts 
from the main army, intended to act separately for a time, he shall 
appoint deputy paymasters, who shall account to him for the money 
advanced to them, and shall each give a bond in the sum of fifteen 
thousand dollars, with sufficient sureties, for the faithful discharge of 
their duties, respectively, and take an oath faithfully to execute the 
duties of their offices. . . . And that the Pajanaster-General shall 
receive eighty dollars per month, with the rations and forage of a 
major, in full compensation for his services and traveling expenses; 
and the deputy, in addition to his pay and other emoluments, thirty 
dollars per month, in full compensation for his services and traveling 
expenses. 



Act of Apr /I 22, ISOO {2 Stats., S8). 

AN ACT to lix the compensation of the Paymaster-General and assistant to the 

Ad j utant-General . 

Sec. 1. That the Paymaster-General of the Army of the United 
States shall receive one hiuulred and twenty dollars per month, with 
the rations and forage of a major, in full compensation for his services 
and traveling expenses, to I)e computed from the conmiencementof the 
time of his actual residence at the seat of Government, anything in the 
"Act for the better organization of the troops of the United States, 
and for other purposes," to the contrary notwithstanding. 



460 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENEEAL STAFF OF U. S. .ARMY. 
Act of Mafpch 16, 1802 (^ Stats., 132). 
AN ACT fixing the military peace establishment of the United States. 



* 



Sec. 3. That there shall be . . . one paj^master of the Army, 
seven pa3^ma,sters and two assistants, to l)e attached to such districts 
as the President of the United States shall direct, to be taken from the 
line of commissioned officers, who, in addition to their other duties, 
shall have charge of the clothing of the troops. 

Sec. 4. That the monthly pay of the officers . . . be as follows, 
to wit: To the . . . paymaster of the Army, one hundred and 
twenty dollars, without any other emolument, except such stationery 
as may be requisite in his department and the use of the pul)lic office 
now occupied l)y him; . . . each paymaster attached to districts, 
thirty dollars, and each assistant to such paymaster, ten dollars, in 
addition to his pay in the line. 

* * * 

Sec. 8. That . . . the Secretary of War is herel^y authorized 
to cause to be furnished to the paymasters of the respective districts 
such surplus of clothing- as he may deem expedient, which clothing 
shall, under his direction, be furnished to the soldiers, when necessary, 
at the contract prices and accounted for l)y them out of the arrears of 

mo n till V pay. 

* * * 

Sec. 13. That the said corps shall be paid in such manner that the 
arrears shall, at no time, exceed two months, unless the circumstances 
of the case shall render it unavoidable. 

* * * 

Sec. 16. That the Paymaster shall perform the duties of his office, 
agreeable to the direction of the President of the United States, for the 
time being; and before he enters on the duties of the same shall give 
bonds, with good and sufficient sureties, in such sums as the President 
shall direct, for the faithful discharge of his said office; and shall take 
an oath to execute the duties thereof with fidelity ; and it shall , moreover, 
be his duty to appoint from the line, with the approbation of the 
President of the United States, the several paymasters to districts and 
assistants prescribed by this act; and he is hereby authorized to require 
the said paymasters to districts and assistants to enter into bonds, 
with good and sufficient surety, for the faithful discharge of their 
respective duties. 



Act of April JO, 1810 {2 Stats., 592). 
AN ACT rejjnlating the Post-Otfice Department. 



Sec. 24. That hitters and packets, to and from the following officers 
of the United States, shall be received and conveyed by post, free of 
postage, . . . the . . . Paymaster of the Army. . . . 



THE PAY DEPAKTMENT. 461 

Act ofJanuanj 11, 1812 (^ StaU., 671). 

AN ACT to raise an additional military force. 
* * . * 

Sec. 9, That . . . the Secretary of War is hereby authorized to 

cause to bo furnished to the paymasters of the respective districts such 

surplus of clothing as he may deem expedient, which clothing shall, 

under his direction, be furnished to the soldiers, when necessary, at 

the contract prices and accounted for by them out of their arrears of 

monthly pay. 

" ' * -x- * 

Sec. 13. That the said corps shall be paid in such manner that the 
arrears shall, at no time, exceed two months, unless the circumstances 
of the case shall render it unavoidable. 



Act of May 16, 1812 {2 Stats., 735). 
AN ACT making further provision for the Armj^ of the United States. 

That the President of the United States be, and he hereby is, author- 
ized and empowered to appoint so many district paymasters as, in his 
judgment, the service may require; and if such paymasters are taken 
from the line of the Arm}^, they shall, respectively, receive thirty 
dollars ])er month in addition to their pay in the line: Provided, The 
same shall in no case exceed the pa}^ and emoluments of a major; and 
if not taken from the line, they shall receive the same pay and emolu- 
ments as a major of infantry. 

Sec. 2. . . . Provided, That all district . . . paymasters 
shall be subject to the rules and articles of Avar, and give such bonds 
to the United States as the Secretary for the Department of War may 
direct for the faithful performance of their duties. And it shall be the 
duty of the commanding officer, when requested by the paymaster, to 
furnish a capable noncommissioned officer or soldier to aid him in the dis- 
charge of his duty, who, while so emplo^^ed, shall receive double pay. 

Act of July 6, mm (2 Stats., 78%). 

AN ACT making further provisions for the Army of the United States, and for 

other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 2. That to any army of the United States, other than that in 
which the . . . Pa^nnasterof the Army shall serve, it shall be lawful 
for the President to appoint . . . one deputy paymaster-general 
who shall be taken from the line of the Army, and who shall, in addi- 
tion to his pay and other emoluments, be entitled to fifty dollars per 
month, Avhich shall be in full compensation for his extra services. 
And that there shall be, to each of the foregoing deputies, such num- 
ber of assistant deputies (not exceeding three to each department) as 
the public service may require, who shall, in like manner, be taken 
from the line, and who shall each be entitled to thirty dollars per 
month, in addition to his pay and other emoluments, which shall be in 
full compensation for his extra services: And provided also, That the 



462 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENEEAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

President of the United States be, and he is hereby, authorized to 
appoint any of the officers named in this act during the recess of the 
Senate, to be submitted to the Senate at their next meeting- for their 
advice and consent. 



Act ofJanuanj £9, 1S13 {2 Stot.s., 794). 

AN ACT ill addition to the act entitled "An act to raise uii additional military force," 

and for other purposes. 

* * vfr 

Sec. 9. That the said regiments shall be paid in such manner that 
the arrears shall at no time exceed two months, unless the circumstances 
of the case shall render it unavoidable. 



Act of March 3, IS 13 {2 Stats., 816). 

AN ACT the better to provide for the supplies of the Army of the United States, 
and for the accountability of persons entrusted with the same. 

* * -K- 

Sec. 4. That the officers . . . who uvAy receive monies in 
advance from tlie War Department shall render quarterly accounts to 
the accountant of the said Department of their specie receipts and dis- 
bursements, and shall moreover make such other monthly summary 
statements thereof to the Secretary for the said Department as he may 
prescribe. ... 



Act of March 30, 18U {3 Stats., 113). 

AN ACT for better organizing, paying, and supplying the Army of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 20. That in no case shall the district paymasters ... be 
taken from the line of the Army. 

-X- w * 

Act of April IS, ISU {3 Stats., MS). 

AN ACT fixing the salary of the Paymaster of the Army of the United States, and 
allowing a sum for the employment of additional clerks in his office for the year 
one thousand eight hundred and fourteen, and providing for the appointment of 
assistant district paymasters. 

That in lieu of the monthly compensation now allowed b}^ law to the 
Paymaster of the Army of the United States, he shall receive an 
annual salary of two thousand dollars, to be paid (piarter yearly, at 
the Treasury of the United States, and to commence on tlu^ 1st day of 
January last. 

Sec. 2. That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, 
authorized, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint 
so man}^ assistant district paymasters, not exceeding tliirty, as the 
public service may, in his opinion, require: Ptomded That the Presi- 



THE PAY DEPARTMENT, 463 

(lent of the United States .shall have power to appoint any ofEcer 
authorized l)y this act, during the recess of the Senate, to be submitted 
to them for their advice and consent at their next session. 

Sec. 3. That it shall be the duty of the Paymaster of the Army, 
under the direction of the War Department, to make all disburse- 
ments of money within that Department to the district paymasters, 
and to adjust, state, and exhibit their several accounts, according- to 
such forms, and within such periods, as shall be prescribed for that 
purpose by the Tieasury Department. 

Sec. 4. That to secure the regular and punctual payment of the 
troops, the district paymasters shall examine and transmit to the Pay- 
master of the Army the accounts and vouchers for all disbursements 
which have been made by them to the troops of the army or district 
where the}^ shall be stationed, as soon as the first payment shall have 
])een made, and accompany the same with an estimate for the next 
imyment, wdiich accounts and estimates shall be regularly transmitted, 
that settlements may be made and competent funds remitted: Provided 
also. That the said district and assistant paymasters shall make pay- 
ments to the militia in the service of the United States when required 
by the Secretary of War or the Paymaster of the Army. 

' Sec. 5. That the assistant disti-ict paymasters shall receive the pay 
and emoluments of a captain of infantr3'' and forage for one horse. 

Sec. 6. That the district and assistant district paymasters shall 
severally give bonds, with good and sufficient security, to the United 
States for the faithful performance of their duties, in such sums as 
shall be required by the Paymaster of the Army, under the direction 
of the War Departnient, and shall be subject to the Rules and Articles 
of War. ■ 

Sec. 7. That this act shall continue in force until the termination of 
the war in which the United States are now engaged with the United 
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the dependencies thereof, 
and for one year thereafter and no longer. 

May 17, 1815. — . . . And the President of the United States has further 
judged proper, that, in addition to the provision. for a general staff, which is specific- 
ally made by the act of Congress, certain officers shall be retained, under the spe- 
cial authority given by the act, until circumstances will permit of their discharge, 
without material injury to the service, and that the following shall be the 

GENERAL STAFF. 



A I*aymaster of the Army. 

Two "deputy paymasters-general and two assistant deputy paymasters, to be pro- 

visionallv retained. 

* * * 

{acneml Orda-H, A. and I. (L'.s Offict'.) 

Act of April U, 1H16 {3 Stats., 297). 

AN ACT for organizing the general staff and making further provisions for the Army 

of the Ignited States. 



Sec. 3. That the Pay Dej)artment shall consist cf one Paymaster- 
General of the Army, with the annual salary of two thousand five 
hundred dollars, and that . . . there be appointed one paymaster 



464 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

to each battalion of the corps of artillery, who, . . . , in addition 
to the regular and punctual payment of their respective . . . 
corps, shall discharge the duties of district paymasters within such dis- 
trict as shall from time to time be assigned them by the Paymaster- 
General, under the direction of the Secretary of War: Provided., That 
. . . battalion paymasters may be taken either from the subalterns 
of the Army or citizens and appointed by the President of the United 
States: 7 Wy/(i't'(^«/.so, That . . . battalion paymasters shall receive 
the pay and emoluments of a major, and shall be allowed a capable non- 
commissioned officer as clerk, who while so employed shall receive 
double pay and the actual expense of transportation while traveling 
under orders in the discharge of his dut}-. 

Sec. 4. That it shall be the duty of the . . . battalion pay- 
masters to pay all the regular troops; and to ensure punctuality and 
responsil)ility correct reports shall be made to the Paymaster-General 
once in two months, showing the disposition of the funds previously 
transmitted, with accurate estimates for the next payment of such regi- 
ment, garrison, or department as may have been assigned to each; and 
whenever any paymaster shall fail to transmit such estimate or neglect 
to render his vouchers to the Paymaster-General for settlement of his 
accounts more than six months after receiving funds he shall be recalled 
and another appointed in his place. 

* * * 

Sec. 6. That all officers of the Pay . . . Department shall, pre- 
vious to their entering on the duties of their respective offices, give 
good and sufficient bonds to the United States, fully to account for all 
moneys and public property which they may receive, in such sum as 
the Secretary of War shall direct; and all paymasters . . . shall 
be subject to the Rules and Articles of War in the same manner as com- 
missioned officers: Pmvided also., That all officers of the Pay . . . 
Department be submitted to the Senate for their confirmation in the 
same manner as officers of the Army. 

Sec. 7. . . . : Provided., That whenever more than the author- 
ized quantity is required the value of the extra articles shall be 
deducted from the soldiers' pay, and in like manner the soldiers shall 
receive pay according to the annual estimated value for such author- 
ized articles of uniform as shall iiot have been issued to him in each 
year: Provided (duo., That the manner of issuing and accounting for 
clothing shall be established in the general regulations of the War 
Department. 

Sec. 8. That in all cases where a soldier of the Regular Army shall 
have been discharged from the service of the United States, and cloth- 
ing shall be duo to said soldier, it shall 1)0 the duty of the Paymaster- 
General to cause the same to bo paid for according to the price paid in 
the seventh section of this act. 



Act of xipr'd m, mm {S stats., SOI). 

AN ACT Hupplt'iiR'ntary to an Act entitled "An act granting ))ounties in land and 
extra pay to certain Canadian volunteers." 

That instead of the Treasurer of the United States, as is prescribed 
])y the third section of the act to which this is a supplement, the Pay- 
master of the Army of the United States be, and he is hereby, author- 



THE PAY DEPAETMENT. 465 

ized unci required to pay each of the persons [citizens of the United 
States anterior to the late war, and at its commencement inhabiting 
Canada, but who during the w^ar joined the armies of the United 
States as volunteers] described in the act above recited, according to 
the provisions thereof, three months' pay in addition to that to which 
they may have been previously entitled, according to the rank they 
respectively held in the Army of the United States during the late 
war. 

Act of March S, IS 17 {3 Stats., 399). 

AN ACT for the relief of certain officers. 

That the Paymaster-General be authorized, and is hereby required, 
to pay the general staff (the volunteer aids excepted) of the governor 
of the Illinois Territory, while in service in the year one thousand 
eight hundred and twelve; and that to each one be allowed the pay and 
emoluments of a major of infantr3^ 

Act of March 2, 1821 {3 Stats., 615). 

AN ACT to reduce and tix tiie military peace establishment of the United States, 
■jr * * 

Sec. 9. That there shall be one Paymaster-General with the present 
compensation, and fourteen paymasters with the pa}' and emoluments 
of regimental paymasters. 

* * * 

Act of March 2, 1827 (^ Stats., 238). 

AN ACT amendatory of the act regulating the Post-Office Department. 

* -X- -x- 

Sec. 4. That the . . . Paymaster-General ... be author- 
ized to frank and to receive letters and packets by post free of 
postage. ... 



Act of July U, 1832 (4 Stats., 580). 

AN ACT supplementary to the several acts making appropriation for the civil and 
military service during the year one thousand eight hundred and thirty-two. 

* * * 

Sec. 4. That it shall be the duty of the district paymasters of the 
Army of the United States, in addition to the payments required to be 
made l>y them to the regular troops, to make payment to all other 
troops in the service of the United States whenever required thereto 
by order of the President. 

Act of March 2, 1833 (^ Stats., 642). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year one thou- 
sand eight hundred and thirty-three. 

* -x- -x- 

Sec. 2. That the Secretary of AV^ir be authorized, at his discretion, 
out of the monies appropriated by this or any former act for the pay- 

S. Doc. 229 30 



466 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

iiient of the militia ordered into the service of the United States accord- 
ing- to law during the last .vear, to allow and pay to the district pay- 
masters of the Army of the United States employed in making such 
payments a commission on the sums respectively paid by them, not 
exceeding one per centum upon the amounts. 

Act of JaJy //,, 1836 {5 8taU.. 117). 

AN ACT autliorizing the ai)pointnient of additional i)ayiiiasters, and for other 

purposes. 

That the President of the United States be, and he hereb}" is, author- 
ized and empowered to appoint three additional paymasters, to be 
attached to the Pay Department of the Army: Provldrd^ That the 
appointments be submitted to the Senate for their confirmation in the 
same manner as other officers of the Arm3^ 

Sec. '1. That the officers appointed in virtue of this act shall per- 
form the same duties and receive the same pay and allowances as the 
present paymasters of the Army, and shall in like manner be subject 
to the rules and Articles of War, and previous to entering upon the 
duties of their office shall give such bonds to the United States as the 
Secretary of War may direct for the faithful performance of their 
duties. 

Sec. 3. That when volunteers or militia are called into the service of 
the United States, so that the pavmasters authorized by law shall not 
be deemed sufficient to enaljle them to pa}" the troops with proper 
punctuality, it shall be lawful for the President to assign to any officer 
of the Army the duty of pavmaster, who, while so assigned, shall per- 
form the same duty, give the same bond, be subject to the same liability, 
and receive the same emoluments as are now provided for paymaster 
of the Army: Provided., however., That the number of officers so 
assigned shall not exceed one for every two regiments of militia or 
volunteers: And provided also., That the whole emoluments of said 
officers, including their pay and allowances in the line, shall not exceed 
the pa}' and emoluments of a pavmaster. 



Art of Jul;/ ;7, 1S3H {G Sfat.H., 250^. 

AN ACrr to increase tlie jn-esent military establislinient nf the Unite<l States, and 

for other purposes. 



Sec. 3. That so mucli of the act passed the twenty-ninth day of 
April, one thousand eight hundred and twelve, entitled "'An act making 
provision for the Corps of Engineers," as provides that one paymaster 
shall be taken from the subalterns of the Corps of Engineers, be, and 
the same is hereby, repealed; and that the paymaster so authorized 
and provided be attached to the Pay Department, and be in every respect 
placed on the footing of other paymasters of the Army. 

-X- -X- -X- 

Sec. 20. That whenever suitable noncommissioned officers or privates 
can not be ]:)rocured from the line of the Army to serve as paymaster's 
clerks, paymasters be, and hereby are, authorized and empowered, by 



THE PAY DEPARTMENT. 467 

and with the approbation of the Secretary of War, to employ citizens 
to perform that duty, at salaries not to exceed tive hundred dollars per 
amuim each. 

-X- * * 

Sec. 2-1. That hereafter the officers of the Pay . . . depart- 
ments of the Army shall receive the pa}' and emoluments of officers 
of cavalry of the same grades, respectively, according to which they 
are now paid by existing laws. 

Sec. 25. That when volunteers or militia are called into the service 
of the United States, so that the paymasters authorized l)y law shall 
not be deemed sufficient to enal)le them to pay the troops with proper 
punctuality, it shall be lawful for the President to appoint as many 
additional paymasters as he shall deem necessary, who shall perform 
the same duty, give the same bond, be subject to the same liability, 
and receive the same pay and emoluments as are now provided for pay- 
masters of the Army: Provided^ Jiowevei\ That the number so appointed 
shall not exceed one for every two regiments of militia or volunteers: 
And provided aho^ That the persons so appointed shall continue in 
service only so long as their services are required to pay militia or vol- 
unteers. 

■k * * 

Sec. 31. That . . . no officer of the line of the Army shall here- 
after be employed as acting paymaster, ... if such extra employ- 
ment require that he be separated from his regiment or company, or 
otherwise interfere with the performance of the military duties proper: 
Provided^ That when officers of the Army are now employed . . . 
in the . . . pay departments as contemplated in this section, they 
may be continued therein not exceeding one year, unless the conven- 
ience of the service will admit of their withdrawal sooner. 



Act of Juhj 7, 1838 (5 Stats., 308). 

AN ACT supplementary to an act entitled ' 'An act to increase the present military 
establishment of the United States, arid for other purposes," approved July 5, 
1838. 

That the act to which this is a supplement shall be, and the same 
here})y is, explained, limited, and modified as follows: 

* * -X- 

N'mth. That the said a('t shall l)e so construed as to allow the Pay- 
master-CTcneral . . . of the Army the additional rations therein 
grant(>d to officers of the line and staff for every five ^'ears' service. 

AiKjui^t 11, 1842 {B-504). — The Paymaster-General was directed to ascertain and 
certify what would have been due to the militia called out by the State of Georgia, 
during the Seminole, Cliemkee, and (^reek campaigns, or forthe suppression of Indian 
liostilities in Florida and Alal)ama, if the volunteers and militia had been duly called 
and mustered into the service of the United States. 

Act of August '33^ 18J^2 {5 Stats., 5m). 
■ AN ACT respecting the organization of tlie Army, and for other purposes. 

-X- * -X- 

Sec. 4. That within one month after the passage of this act the 
offices of . . . three paymasters . . . shall ))(> abolished, and 
that number of paymasters . . . shall be discharged by the Presi- 



468 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

dent, and tbe}^ shall he allowed three months' pay, in addition to the 
pa,y and emoluments to which they may be entitled at the time of their 
discharge. 

* * x- 

Act of Juno 17, 18 J^ {9 Stats., 17). 
AN ACT making alterations in the Pay Department of the Army. 

That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, author- 
ized, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint 
three additional paymasters, to be attached to the Pay Department of 
the Arm3^ 

Sec. 2. That the officers appointed in virtue of this act shall per- 
form the same duties, receive the same pay and allowances as the 
present pa^ymasters of the Army, and shall, in like manner, l)e subject 
to the rules and Articles of War, and, previous to entering upon the 
duties of their office, shall give such bonds to the United States as the 
Secretary of War may direct, for the faithful performance of their 
duties. 

Act of 3f arch 3, 181^7 {9 Stats., 184). 

AN ACT making provision for an additional number of general officers, and for other 

purposes. 

* * -K- 

Sec. 12. That the President of the United States be, and he hereby 
is, authorized, b}' and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to 
add to the Pay Department of the Army two deputy paymaster- 
generals, wdth the pay and allowances, each, of a paymaster of the 
Army; and the officers so appointed shall give such bonds as the 
President shall, from time to time, direct: P/'ooided, That the deputy 
paymaster-generals shall, in addition to paying troops, superintend 
the payment of armies in the tield. 

Sec. 13. That the officers of the Pay Department shall have rank 
corresponding with the rank to which their pay and allowances are 
assimilated: Proinded, That paymasters shall not, in virtue of such 
rank, bo entitled to command in the line or other stati' departments 
of the Ami}-: Provided also. That the right to command in the Pay 
Department, Ijetween officers having the same rank, shall be in favor 
of the oldest in service in the department, without regard to the date 
of commission under which they may be acting at the time. 

Sec. 14. That all paymasters hereafter to ])e appointed by the Presi- 
dent for the volunteer service of the United States shall be nominated 
to the Senate for confirmation to such office. 

* -x- •>:- 

Sec. 22. That all officers appointed . . . under this act shall 
be discharged at the close of the war with Mexico. 

Act (fJuly 19, 18If8 if) Stats., ^p). 

AN ACT to amend an act entitled " An act supplemental to an act entitled 'An act 
providing for the prosecution of the existing war between th^ United States and 
the Republic of Mexico,' " and for other purposes. 

■X- -X- -x- 

Sec. 3. That so much of . . . the act of the third March, 
eighteen hundred and forty-seven, as requires the discharge at the 



THE PAY DEPARTMENT. 469 

close of the war with M(^xieo of . . . tlio two deputy pa}' masters, 
as authorized by th(^ twelfth section of the last-mentioned act, . 
be, and the same is hereby, repealed: Provided, That no vacancy 
happening- under the provisions so repealed shall be filled up until 
further authorized by law: And provided further, That the ten addi- 
tional paymasters appointed in virtue of the said foregoing act of third 
March, eighteen hundred and forty-seven, shall be retained in service 
until the fourth da}' of March, eighteen hundred and forty-nine. 
«■ * * 

July 29, 184S (9-339). — Paymaster-General to establish regulations for the pay- 
ment of the three months' extra pay allowed to officers and men who served in the 
Mexican war, by the act of July 19, 1848 (9-247). 

Aef (jfAugmt 12, I84.S {9 Stats., 303). 
AN ACT concerning the Pay Dej^artment of the Army. 

That the Paymaster-Cxeneral be, and he is hereby, authorized to allow 
an}" of the paymasters of the Arm}" who shall have been employed in 
the payment of volunteers during the late war with Mexico such a 
commission not exceeding one-half of one per centum on all sums dis- 
bursed by them as aforesaid as he shall deem a reasonable compensa- 
tion for the risk and labor attending such service: Provided, That the 
said commission to any one paymaster shall not exceed one thousand 
dollars per annimi from the commencement to the close of the war. 

Sec. 2. That the said Paymaster-General uiay, in his discretion, 
allow to any paymaster's clerk, in lieu of the pay now allowed by law, 
an annual salary of seven hundred dollars. 

Act of March 2, ISIfd {9 Stats.. 350). 

AN ACT concerning the Pay Department of the Army. 

That the Pay Department of the Army shall consist of a Paymaster- 
General, who shall have the rank of colonel, and the same pay and 
allowances as are at present provided by law, and the same tenure of 
office as the heads of other disbui'sing departments of the Army; two 
deputy paymasters-general with the same rank, pay, and allowances as 
are now provided by law for such ofiicers, and the same tenure of office 
as ofiicers of like grade in other disbursing departments of the Army, 
and twenty-five paymasters, with the same rank, pay, and allowances 
as are now provided by law for such ofiicers, and the same tenure of 
ofiice as ofiicers of like grade in other disbursing departments of the 
Army. That it shall be the duty of all disbursing ofiicers of the Pay 
Department to renew their bonds, or furnish additional security, at 
least once in four years or as much oftener as the President may direct. 
That the officers of the Pay Department provided for l)y the first sec- 
tion of this act shall consist of the Paymaster-General, the two deputy 
paymasters-gcnei'al now in commission, the fifteen paymasters who 
were in service under the acts in force at the commencement of the 
war with Mexico, and ten paymasters to bo selected from the additional 
paymasters now in service, and the thirteen paymasters authorized by 
the acts of the seventeenth of June, eighteen hundred and forty -six, 
and the third of March, eighteen hundred and forty-seven. 

July 29, 1850 {9-562). — Settlement of claims for extra pay granted to officers and 
men who served in the Mexican war, transferred from the Pay Department to the 
Second Auditor of the Treasury. 



470 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S, ARMY. 

Act of March 3, 1851 (9 /Stats., 595). 

AN ACT to found a military asylum for the relief and 8ui)port of invalid and disabled 
soldiers of the Army of the ITnited States. 
•;:- * -A- 

Sec. 2. That . . . the Paymaster-Genoriil . . . shall he 
ex officio commissionci- of the same. 

•X- * * 

Act of AiKjaxt 31, 185'2 {10 Stats., 105). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending the 
thirtieth of June, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-three. 

* -;<■ * 

Sec. 5. That paymasters' clerks shall bo entitled to receive one 
ration per day when on duty at their stations, to ))e conuniited at the 
price now authorized when traveling on duty. 

* * •::- 

March 3, 1859 {11-431). — Board of commissioners of the Soldiers' Home reduced; 
Paymaster-General no longer a member thereof. 

March 19, 1862 {12-616) . — The Paymaster-General to apply moneys appropriated 
by any State for the payment of its volunteers, for the jjayments designated by the 
legislative act making the appropriation, in the same manner as if appropriated by 
Congress. 

March 3, 1863 {12-825). — The Paymaster-General was directed to take immediate 
measures for the prompt payment (within sixty days from the passage of the resolu- 
tion) of the sick and wounVled soldiers in coiivalescent camps, hospitals, and else- 
where. 

Act ifJvne W, 186 Jf. {13 Stats., lU)- 

AN ACT to increase the })ay of s<jldiers in the United States Army, and for other 

purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 10. That from and after the passage of this act the pay of 
clerks of paymasters in th(^ Army of the United States shall ])e twelve 
hundred dolhirs per annum without rations. 

* * * 

Act of June 25, 186 J^ {13 Stats., 181). 
AN ACT to proviile for the examinatidu of certain otHcers of the Army. 

That every . . . paymaster and additional paymaster shall, as 
soon as practicable, be ordered to appear for examination as to his 
((ualitications before a board to be composed of three staff officers of 
the corps to which he belongs, of recognized merit and fitness, of 
whom two at least shall be officers of volunteers, which board shall 
make a careful examination as to the qualifications of all officers who 
may appear before them in pursuance of this act, and shall also keep 
minutes and make a full and true record of the examination in each 
case. And all members of such boards of examination shall, before 
proceeding to the discharge of their duties as herein provided, swear 
or affirm that they will conduct all examinations with impartiality, and 
with a sole view to the qualifications of the person or persons to be 
examined, and that they will not divulge the vote of any member upon 
the examination of any officer who may appear before them. 

Sec. 2. That such boards of examination shall be convened under 
the direction of the Secretary of War, by the . , . Paymaster- 



THE PAY DEPARTMENT. 47l 

General, at convenient places; and general rules of examination and a 
standard of qualifications shall be prescribed by said officers, subject to 
the approval of the Secretary of War, and shall be published in gen- 
eral orders. 

Sec. 3. That after such general orders shall have been pu])iished 
for sixty days, if any officer who shall then l)c ordered before a board 
of examiners, under the provisions of this act, shall fail for thirty 
days, after receiving such special order, to report himself as directed, 
all his pay and allowances shall cease and be forfeited until ho does 
appear and report for examination; and if he shall still thereafter fail 
for a further period of thirty days so to appear, he shall thereupon be 
dropped from the rolls of the Army: Provided^ lumt^vei\ That if such 
failure to appear and report shall have l)een occasioned by wounds or 
sickness, or other physical disability, then there shall be no forfeiture 
of pay until thirty da3'S after such disability has been removed; but if 
in sixty days after the disability is removed the officer shall not report 
himself, he shall then be dropped from the rolls as in other cases. 

Sec. 4. That if the board of examination shall report that any officer 
does not possess the requisite business qualifications they shall forward 
the record of the examination of such officer to the head of the Ijureau 
to which he may belong, and if the head of such bureau shall approve 
the finding and report of the lioard he shall forward the same through 
the Secretary of War to the President of the United States, and if the 
President shall confirm the same the officer so failing in his examina- 
tion shall, if conunissioned, be dismissed from the service with one 
month's pay, and if not yet commissioned his appointment shall be 
resoked. And if the board shall report that any officer fails to pass a 
satisfactory examination by reason of intemperance, gambling, or other 
immorality, and if the head of the bureau shall approve the finding and 
report of the l^oard, and the same being communicated, as l)efore pro- 
vided, to the President and confirmed by him, then such officer shall 
be dismissed from the service without pay and shall not be permitted 
to reenter the service as an officer: Prorld<d^ That such dismissal shall 
not relieve him from liability under existing laws for any ofl'ense he 
may have connuitted. 

Sec. 5. That the Iwards of examination shall forward all their rec- 
ords of examination to the heads of the bureaus to which they apper- 
tain, and such records shall be filed in the proper bureaus with a suit- 
able index, and any officer who ma}^ desire it shall be entitled to receive 
a copy of the record in his own case upon paying the cost of copying 
the same. 

Marcli 3, 1865 {13-495). — Amount due for rations sold to officers in tlie field to be 
reported monthly to the Paymaster-General, to be deducted from payment next 
foll()\vin>rsucli i)urchases; settelment for tobacco sold to enlisted men to be deducted 
from their pay in same manner as provided for the settlement of clothing accounts. 

Ad of July 28, 1866' {IJ^ Stats., 310). 

AN ACT making a]ij)ropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for 

the year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, and for other 

purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 15. That in the payment of the additional bounty herein pro- 

' Section 12 grants $100 bounty to men enlisted after April 19, 1861, who served 
faithfully for three years, and section i;} $50 bounty to men enlisted after April 14, 
1861, who served two years or were discharged for wounds receivt'd in line <if duty, 
and to widows, etc., of such as died in the service. 



472 LEGISLATIVE HISTOET OF GENEKAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

vided for it .shall be the duty of the Paymaster-Goneral, under such 
rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the Secretary of War, 
to cause to be examined the accounts of each and every soldier who 
makes application therefor, and if found entitled thereto shall pay 
said bounties. 



Act of July 28, 1866 {IJ^ Stats., 
AN ACT to increase ami fix the military i:)eac'e establishment of the United States. 



Sec. 18. That the Pay Department of the Army shall hereafter con- 
sist of one Paymaster-General, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of 
a brigadier-general; two assistant paymasters-general, with the rank, 
pa}^, and emoluments of colonels of cavalry; two deputy paymasters- 
general, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of lieutenant-colonels of 
cavalry; and sixty paymasters, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of 
majors of cavalry, to be selected from persons who have served as 
additional paymasters. 

* * * 

Sec. 23. That the . . . Paymaster-General . . . shall here- 
after be appointed by selection from the corps to which they belong, 
and no person shall be appointed to any vacancy created by this act in 
the Pay . . . departments until he shall have passed the exami- 
nation now required by law. 

* * * . 

Sec. 25. That [the cost of articles purchased from the Subsistence 
Department by officers and men] if not paid for when purchased, 
. the amount due the Government shall be deducted by the 
paymaster at the payment next following such purchase: Provided, 
That this section shall not go into effect until the first day of July, 
eighteen hundred and sixty-seven. 



Act of March 2, 1867 iU Stats., JfS5). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and sixty-eight, and for other purposes. 



Sec. 7. That the Paymaster-General l^e authorized to pay, under such 
regulations as the Secretary of War shall prescribe, in addition to the 
amount received by them, for the traveling expenses of such California 
and Nevada volunteers as were discharged in New Mexico, Arizona, 
and Utah, and at points distant from the place or places of enlistment, 
such proportionate sum according to the distance travelled as have 
been paid to the troops of other States similarly situated. 

March 2, 1S67 {14-571). — Forbids payment of accounts, claims, etc., against the 
Government which accrued prior to April 13, 1860, in favor of disloyal persons. 
This not to apply to claims assigned to loyal creditors of such persons in i)ayment of 
debts incurred prior to March 1, 1861. 



THE PAY DEPAETMENT. 473 

Arf of Miirvli. JO, J.S68 {15 Stats., J^':i). 

AN ACT to facilitate the settlement of paymasters' accounts. 

That the proper accounting officers of the Treasury be, and they 
are hereby, authorized, in the settlement of accounts of paymasters of 
the Army, to allow such credits for oyerpayments made in good faith 
on public account since the commencement of the rebellion, and prior 
to the passage of this act, as shall appear to them to be just, by such 
vouchers and testimony as they shall require. 

A<:t of March J, 1869 {16 Stats., 315). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year 

ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy, and for other purposes. 

-;<• •;;■ * 

Sec. 6. That until otherwise directed by law there shall be no new 
appointments and no promotions ... in the Pay Department . . . 

March 3, 1S69 {15-334).— X\\ bounty claims remaining in the office of the Pay- 
master-General on May 1, 1869, to be' transferred to the Second Auditor for settle- 
ment. 

May 15, 1812 {17-117). — Paymasters to issue deposit books to enlisted men deposit- 
ing their savings with them in sums not less than five dollars; four per cent interest 
allowed on sums not less than fifty dollars on deposit for six months or more; system 
of deposits to be regulated by the Secretary of War; amount of deposits and cloth- 
ing balances payable, on discharge, out of the appropriations for "pay of the Army" 
for the then current fiscal year. 

Act of June k, 1872 {17 Stats., 219). 
AN ACT to enal)le the President to appoint a Paymaster-General of the Army. 

That the sixth section of the act of third March, eighteen hundred 
and sixt}'-nine, making appropriations for the support of the Army, is 
so far modified that the President is hereby authorized to appoint a 
Paymaster-General, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of a colonel, 
said appointment to date from the time the appointee assumed the 
duties of the office, to fill the yacancy now existing. 

Act of March 2, 1875 {18 Stats., 338). 
AN ACT fixing the number of paymasters in the Army of the United States. 

That the number of pa^miasters is hereby established at fifty, instead 
of sixty, as was designated in the eighteenth section of the act of July 
twenty-eighth, eighteen hundred and sixty-six; said paj^masters to 
haye the rank, pa}', and emoluments of majors of cayalry. 

Sec. 2. That so nuich of said eighteenth section as relates to the 
persons from whom said paymasters shall be elected be. and is hereby, 
repealed. 

Resolution of March 3, 1875 {18 Stats., 524). 

JOINT RESOLUTION explanatory of an act entitled "An act fixing the number of 
paymasters in the Army of the TTnited States," approved March second, eighteen 
Inmdred and seventy-five. 

That the intent and meaning of an act entitled " An act fixing the 
number of paymasters in the Army of the United States," approved 



474 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

March two, ei<)fhteeii Iniiidred and seventy-five, was to authorize the 
appointment of such additional number of paymasters with the rank 
of major as will mak'^ the total number of paymasters with the rank of 
major fifty, and no more. And so much of section eleven hundred and 
ninety-four of the Revised Statutes as applies to the paymasters of the 
rank of major l>e, and the same is hereby, repealed. 

Art ofJuhj 2^, 1S7G {19 Sfafs., 95). 

AN ACT ('.stal)lishing the rank of tlic Payniaster-General. 

That from and after the passage of this act the rank of the Paymas- 
ter-General of the United States Army shall be brioadier-general; but 
no pay or allowances shall be made to said officer other than from the 
date of appointment under this act. 

July 34, 1876 {19-'J7). — A])])ropriations under liead " Pay Department " to be 
accounted for by dii^lnir8ing uttieers under the title "Pay, etc., of the Army, 1877," 
.«o that the total amount sshall uot be exceeded. 

March 3, 1S77 {19-270), repeals section 1194, Revised Statutes, now applying only to 
grades in the Pay Department above rank of major. 

Ikcemher 15, 1877 {20-7). — All papers in the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, etc., 
relating to payment of bounties, etc., to be turned over to the Paymaster-General. 

REVISED STATUTES— 2ND EDITION— 1878. 

* -X- * 

Sec. 1094. The Army of the United States shall consist of— 

* -X- -X- 

A Pay Department. 

-X- -X- * 

Sec. 1182. The Pa}^ Department of the Army shall consist of one 
Paymaster-General, with the rank of colonel: two assistant paymas- 
ters-oeneral, with the rank of colonel of cavaliy; two deputy paymas- 
ters-general, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel of cavalry, and sixty 
paj^masters, with the rank of major of cavalry. 

Sec. 1188. Officers of the Pay Department shall not be entitled, in 
virtue of their rank, to command in the line or in other staff corps. 

Sec. 1184. When volunteers or militia are called into the service of 
the United States, and the officers of the Paymaster's Department are 
not deemed by the President sufficient for the punctual payment of 
the troops, he may appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the 
Senate, and add to said corps as many paymasters, to be called addi- 
tional paymasters, with the rank of major, not exceeding one for every 
two regiments of volunteers or luilitia, as he may deem necessary. 

Sec. 1185. Additional paymasters shall be retained in service only 
so long as they may be required for the payment of volunteers and 
militia, as provided herein. 

Sec. 118(5. The Paymaster-General shall perform the duties of his 
office under the direction of the President. 

Sec. 1187. The deputy paymasters-general shall, in addition to pay- 
ing troops, superintend the payment of armies in the field. 

Sec. 1188. The paymasters and additional paymasters shall pay the 
regular troops, and shall pay all other troops in the service of the 
United States when required" to do so by order of the President. 

Sec. 1189. The Army shall be paid in such manner that the arrears 



THE PAY dp:paiitment. 475 

shall at no time exceed two months, unless circumstances shall render 
further arrears unavoidable. 

'8p:o. lliH). Paymasters and additional paymasters shall Ije allowed 
a capable noncommissioned officer or private as clerk. When suitable 
noncommissioned officers or privates can not he procured from the line 
of the Army, they are authorized, })y and with the approbation of the 
Secretary of War, to employ citizens as clerks, at a salary of twelve 
hundred dollars a year. 

Sec. 1191. All officers of the . . . Pay Department . . . 
shall, before entering upon the duties of their respective offices, give 
good and sufficient ))onds to the United States, in such siuns as the 
Secretary of War may direct, faithfully to account for all public 
moneys and property which they may receive. The President may, 
at any time, increase the sums so prescribed. . . 

Sec. IIU^. All dis])ursing officers of the Pay Department shall renew 
theii bonds or furnish additional security at least once in four years, 
and as much oftener as the President may direct. 

Sec. 1193. The . . . Paymaster-CTcneral shall be appointed 1)y 
selection from the corps to which they ])elong. 

Sec. 1191.^ Until otherwise directed by law there shall be no new 
appointments and no promotions ... in the Pay . 
departments. 

•X- * * 

Sec. 1299. Paymasters to deduct amount due by officers* for rations purchased on 
credit from the payment made next after such purchase shall have heen reported to 
the Paymaster-General. 

Sec. 1300. Paymasters to deduct amount due hv enlisted men for articles purchased 
on credit from the Subsistence Department from the payment made next after such 
purchase shall have been reported to tlie Paymaster-General. 
* * * 

Sec. 1305. Paymasters to issue deposit books to enlisted men wiio may deposit 
their savings with them in sums not less than five dollars. 

Sec. 1306. Four percent interest allowed on sums not less than fifty dollars on 
deposit for six months or more. 

Sec. 1307. System of deposits to be regulated l)y the Secretary of War. 

Sec. 1308. Amounts of deposits and clothing balances payable, on discharge, out of 
the appropriations for "pay of the Army" for the current fiscal year. 



STATUTES AT LARGE, 

Act of Marcli. S, ISSS (32 ,Sfatx., J,5G). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending 
•June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-four, and for other purjioses. 

* * * 

PAY DEPARTMENT. 

Fo)' pay of the Army. — . . . Provided,, That vacancies that 
may hereafter occur in the Pay Corps of the Army in the grades of 
lieutenant-colonel and major, by reason of death, resignation, dismissal, 
or retirement, shall not be tilled by original appointment until the Pay 

^So much of this section as applies to paymasters of the rank of major was repealed 
by joint resolution of March 3, 1875. The act of March 3, 1877, repeals the whole of 
this section so far as it applies to the Pay Department. 



476 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Corps shall by such vacancies l)c reduced to forty paymasters, and the 
number of the Pay Corps shall then be established at fort}-, and no 
more, . 

Act of July 6, 1884, {23 Stats., J 07). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-five, and for other purposes. 

-X- * -X- 

Pay Department.— . . . Provided., That hereafter any pay- 
master of the rank of major who has served twent}^ years in the 
United States Army as a commissioned officer may, upon his own 
application or by direction of the President, be placed upon the retired 
list of the Army until the Pay Department shall be reduced to thirty- 
five members, as follows: One Paymaster-General, with the rank of 
brigadier-general; two assistant paymasters-general, with the rank of 
colonel; three deputy paymasters-general, with the rank of lieutenant- 
colonel, and twentj'-nine paj^masters, with the rank of major; and no 
more appointments of pavmasters shall ])e made in the Pay Department 
until the number shall be reduced below twenty-nine majors, and 
thereafter the number of officers in the Pay Department shall not 
exceed thirty-five: Provided further., That nothing herein shall be 
construed to change ^he present relative rank of any officer now in the 
Pay Corps. . . . 

* * * 

August C, 1894 {28-2SS). — Suins known as detained pay shall, when repaid, become 
a charge against the fund "pay of the Army" for the year in which enlisted men 
have been or may be discharged. 

Act of July 16, 1893' {27 Stats., 174). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending 

June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-three, and for other purposes. 

* * x- 

Pay Department. — . . . Provided, That no appointments shall 
be made to the grade of major in the Pay Department of the Army 
until the numl)er of majors in that department is reduced below 
twenty-five, and thereafter the number of officers of that grade in the 
Pay Department shall be fixed at twenty -five: And provided further., 
That the Secretary of War is also authorized to arrange for the pay- 
ment of the enlisted men serving at posts or places where no pav- 
master is on duty, by check or by currency, to be sent to them by 
mail or express at the expense and risk of the United States. 



Act of Fehrnary 27, 1893 {27 Stats., 4,78). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending 

June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-four, and for other purposes. 

* * -X- 

Pay Department. — . . . Provided, That hereafter no appoint- 
ments shall be made to the grade of major in the Pay Department of 

' Number of paymaster (derks to be reduced one for every paymaster reduced. 
Provision repeated by act of February 27, 1893. 



THE PAY DEPARTMENT. 477 

the Army until the miuiber of majors in that department is reduced 
below twentv-tive, and thereafter the number of officers of that grade 
in the Pay Department shall be fixed at twentj^-five. 



Act of Fclruary m, 1805 (28 Stats., 65 1^). 

AN ACT makinji appropriatiuns for the support of the Army for the fiscal year end- 
ing June thirtieth, eigliteen hundred and ninety-six, and for otlier purposes 



FOU PAY OF GENERAL STAFF, 



Pay Department. — . . . Provided, That there shall be no 
appointment of major in the Pay Department until the number of 
officers in that g-rade shall be reduced below twenty, and thereafter 
the number of such officers in that grade shall be fixed at twenty. 



Act of May J,, 1898 (SO Stats., 390). 

AN ACT making appropriations to supply deficiencies in the appropriations for sup- 
port of the Army for the fiscal year eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, and for 
other purposes. 



PAY DEPARTMENT. 



All the money hereinbefore appropriated under ''Pay Department," 
except for '"''mileage to officers," shall be disbursed and accounted for 
by the Pay Department as pay of the Army, and for that purpose 
shall constitute one fund. 



Act of March 2, 1899 (30 Stats., 977). 

AN ACT for increasing the efficiency of the Army of the United States, and for other 

purposes. 

That from and after the date of approyal of this act the Arni}^ of 
the United States shall consist of . . . a Pay Department, . . . 

•X- * * 

Sec. 7. That the ... Pay Department . . . shall consist 
of the officers . . , nowproyidedby law: . . . And provided 
also, That no person in ciyil life shall hereafter l)e appointed a . . . 
paymaster, . . . until he shall haye passed satisfactoril}^ such 
examination as to his moral, mental, and physical qualifications as may 
be prescribed ]\y the President; and no such person shall be appointed 
who is more than forty-four years of age: Providtd furtlo r. That in 
case of the appointment of an officer who has seryed in a similar capac- 
ity during the war with Spain and has demonstrated his moral, mental, 
and physical (jualitications for the position, then such examination shall 
not be required. 



478 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Sec. li. That the President is hereby authorized to continue in serv- 
ice, or to appoint, ])y and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
officers of the vohuiteer staff as follows: 

•>!• * * 

Thirtv additional paymasters, with the rank of major. 

•;:• * •>:- 

May i26, 1900 [SI — ). — Allotments of pay of enlisted men to pass to the credit of 
disbursing officer, when paid one month subsequent to the month in which such 
allotments accrued, if he has used due diligence in obtaining and using all informa- 
tion that may have l)een received at the War Department relative to the grantors. 
Paymaster-General to collect erroneous payments made because of the failure of the 
proper officer to report whatever facts rendered allotment made unpayable. 

Art of FchniHi-y -2, 1901 {ol -S'/r/As-., — ). 

AN ACT to increa.se the efficiency of the permanent military establishment of the 

United States. 

That from and after the approval of this act the Army of the United 
States . . . shall consist of . . . a Pay Department. . . . 

* % 'A 

Sec. 19. . . . Payments to the Nurse Corps shall be made by 
the Pay Department. 

* * * 

Sec. 21. That the Pay Deparcmcnt shall consist of one Paymaster- 
General with the rank of brigadier-general, three assistant paymasters- 
general with the rank of colonel, four deputy paymasters-general with 
the rank of lieutenant-colonel, twenty paymasters with the rank of 
major, and twenty-live paymasters with the rank of captain, mounted: 
Provided^ That all vacancies in the grade of colonel and lieutenant- 
colonel created or caused by this section shall be tilled by promotion 
according to seniority, as now prescribed by law, and no more appoint- 
ments to the grade of major and paymaster shall be made until the 
number of majors and paymasters is reduced l)elow twenty: Andj^i'o- 
vlded^ That persons who have served in the Volunteer Army since 
April twenty-tirst, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, as additional 
pa3^mastcrs may be appointed to positions in the grade of captain, 
created by this section. So long as there remain surplus majors an 
equal niunber of vacancies shall be held in the grade of captain, so 
that the total number of paymasters authorized l)y this section shall 
not be exceeded at an}^ time. 

Sec. 26. That so long as there remain any officers holding perma- 
nent appointments in the . . . Pay Department, . . , includ- 
ing those appointed to original vacancies in the grades of captain 
and first lieutenant under the provisions of sections sixteen, seven- 
teen, twenty-one, and twenty-four of this act, they shall be promoted 
according to seniority in the several grades, as now provided by law, 
and nothing herein contained shall be deemed to apply to vacancies 
which can be tilled by such promotions or to the periods for which the 
officers so promoted shall hold their appointments, and when any 
vacancy, except that of the chief of the department or corps, shall 
occur, which can not be filled by promotion as provided in this section, 
it shall be tilled bv detail from the line of the Army, and no more 



THE PAY DEPARTMENT. 479 

permanent appointments .shall be made in those departments or corps 
after the original vacancies ci'eated by this act shall have been tilled. 
Such details shall be made from the grade in which the vacancies exist, 
under such system of examination as the President may from time to 
time prescribe. 

All officers so detailed shall serve for a period of four years, at the 
expiration of which time they shall return to duty with the line, 
and officers below the rank of lieutenant-colonel shall not again be 
eligible for selection in any staff department until they shall have 
served two 3'ears with the line. 

That when vacancies shall occur in the position of chief of any staff 
corps or department the President may appoint to such vacancies, by 
and with the advice and consent of the Senate, officers of the Army at 
large not below the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and who shall hold office 
for terms of four years. When a vacancy in the position of chief of any 
staff' corps or department is filled by the appointment of an officer 
below the rank now provided b}^ law for said office, said chief shall, 
while .so serving, have the same rank, pay, and allowances now pro- 
vided for the chief of such corps or department. And any officer now 
holding office in any corps or department who shall hereafter serve as 
chief of a staff' corps or department and shall subsequently be retired, 
shall be retired with the rank, pay, and allowances authorized by law 
for the retirement of such corps or department chief: Provided., That 
so long as there remain in service officers of any staff' corps or depart- 
ment holding permanent appointments the chief of such staff' corps or 
department shall be selected from the officers so remaining therein. 

Sec. 27. That each position vacated by officers of the line trans- 
ferred to any department of the staff' for tours of service under this 
act shall be filled by promotion in the line until the total number 
detailed equals the number authorized for duty in each staff' depart- 
ment. Thereafter vacancies caused b}' details from the line to the 
staff' shall be filled by officers returning from tours of staff' dut}-. If 
under the operation of this act the number of officers returned to any 
particular arm of the service at any time exceeds the number authorized 
bv law in any grade, promotions to that grade shall cease until the 
number has been reduced to that authorized. 



Act ofMturh '2, 1001 {Jl Stats.., —). 

AN ACT inakiiijr ui)propriation for the su])nort of i\w Army for the liscal year ending 
June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and two. 

•X- ■/.■ -:<• 

Provided., That appointments to fill original vacancies ... in 
the grade of captain in the . . . Pa}' Department may be made 
from officers of volunteers conmiissioned since April twenty-first, 
eighteen hundred and ninety-eight. 



IX.-THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS. 



S. Uoc. 2211 31 181 



THE COKPS OF ENUINEERS. 



The earliest records relative to what is now known as the Corps of 
Engineers are very incomplete, but the journals of the Continental 
Congress indicate the gradual development of the corps under the 
peculiar conditions then existing. Thus, on June Id, 1775, the day 
before the battle of Bunker Hill, one chief engineer and two assist- 
ants wore authorized for the '"Grand Armj^," and one chief engineer 
and two assistants ''in a separate department." 

The first formal estal)lishment of a Corps of Engineers dates from 
March 11, 1779. The corps was disbanded in November, 1783, but 
partially revived May i>, 17!>1, and perfected l)y the act of March 16, 
1802. in the earlier period of its organization the duties now per- 
taining to the Corps of Engineers were divided between two different 
branches, but although, as early as July 25, 1777, a ' *■ geographer and sur- 
veyor of the roads" was authorized, the special functions of topograph- 
ical enginers were not specihcally provided for until the act of March 
3, 1813, authorizing eight topographical engineers and eight assistants. 
In August, 1818, a separate Topographical Bureau was estal^lished in 
the War Department, under the immediate direction of the Secretary 
of War and the Chief Engineer. June 21, 1831, the Topographical 
Bureau was constituted by the Secretary of War a distinct bureau of 
the War Department; and by the act of July 5, 1838, an independent 
corps of topographical engineers was created. It was abolished by 
the act of March 3, 1863, and merged into the Corps of Engineers. 

June ^ — , 1775. — Col. Richard Gridley (Massachusetts). 

Aug. 5, 1776. — Col. Rufus Putnam (Massachusetts). 

July -22, 1777.— Col. (Brig. Gen., Nov. 17, 1777; Maj. Gen., Nov. 16, 1781) Louis du 

Portail (France). 
Feb. 26, 1795. — Lieut. Col. Stephen Rochefontaine (France), couinianding corps of 

artillerists and engineers. 
May 7, 1798. — Lieut. Col. Henry Burbeck (Massachusetts), commanding corjw of 

artillerists and engineers. 
July 8, 1802.— Lieut. Col. (Col., Fel). 23, 1808) Jonathan AVilliams (Pennsylvania). 
July 31, 1812.— Col. Joseph G. Swift (Massachusetts). 
Nov. 12, 1818.— Col. Walker K. Arniistead (Virginia). 
Jmie 1, 1821.— Col. Alexander Macomb (New York). 
:\Iav 24, 1828.— Col. Charles (iratiot (Missouri Territory). 
Dec. 7, 1838.— Col. Joseph G. Totten (Connecticut). 
Apr. 22, 1864.— Brig. Gen. Richard Delafield (New York). 
Aug. 8, 1866. — Brig. CJen. Andrew A. Humphreys (Pennsylvania). 
June 30, 1879. — Brig. Gen. Horatio G. Wright (Connecticut). 
Mar. (), 1884. — Brig. Gen. John Newton (Virginia). 
Oct. 11, 1886.— Brig. Gen. James C. Duane (New York). 
July <>, 1888.— Brig. Gen. Thomas L. Casey (Rhode Island). 
May 10, 1895.— Brig. Gen. William P. Craighill (Virginia). 
Feb. 1, 1897.— Brig. Gen. John M. Wilson (Washington Territory). 

483 



484 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENEEAL STAFF OF U. S. AKMY. 

1777-1783. 

Geographer. 

July 25, 1777. — Mr. Robert Erskine. 
Dec. 4, 1780.— Mr. Simeon De Witt. 
May 4, 1781. — Mr. Thomas Hutching, for the southern army. 

1813-1838. 

TopograpldcAil Engineers. 

Apr. 12, 1813. — Bvt. Lieut. Col. John Ander.son ^ (Vermont). 
Sept. 14, 1834.— Bvt. Lieut. Col. John J. Abert (Virginia). 

1838-1863. 

Corps of Topographical Eiigljicers. 

July 7, 1838. — Col. John J. Abert (Virginia). 

Sept. 9, 1861. — Col. Stephen H. Long (New Hamp.shire). 

MVhile Colonel Anderson was the senior topographical engineer until his death in 
1834, the Army Register for 1829 gives Maj. Isaac Roberdeau, T. E., as in charge 
of the Topographical Bureau. At his death, January 15, 1829, Major Roberdeau 
was succeeded in that charge by Colonel Abert. 



THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS. 



JOURNALS OF THE AMERICAN ( CONTINENT Ali) CONGRESS. 

Jime 16^ 1775. 

Resolved^ . . . That there be one Chief Engineer at the Grand 
Ami}', and that his pay l)e sixty dollars per month. 

That two assistants be employed under him, and that the pay of each 
of them be twenty dollars per month. 

That there be one Chief Engineer for the Arm}*, in a separate 
department, and two assistants under him; that the pay of the Chief 
Engineer be sixty dollars per month, and the pay of the assistants 
each twenty dollars per month. 

Ocfohrr 3, 1775. 

Resolved^ That the committee appointed to repair to the camp do 
confer with Mr. Eittenhouse and enquire of him w hether he appre- 
hends he can be of service to the continent as an engineer, and if he 
can, to engage him, and desire he would, w^ith all convenient speed, 
repair to the camp. 

January 16, 1776. 

Resolved^ . . . That if General Washington think proper. Colo- 
nel R. Gridley be continued chief engineer in the army at Cambridge. 

That the pay of the assistant engineers in the army at Cambridge 
be 2() dollars and two-thirds per month. 

March 38, 1776. 

Resolved., That two engineers be (^nployed for the Southern Depart- 
ment. 

March 30, 1776. 

The committee proceeded to the election of two engineers for the 
Southern Department; and the ballots being taken, 
John Stadler and Monsieur Massenback were elected. 

April 36, 1776'. 

Resolved, That Mr. Baldwin, the assistant engineer, ordered to 
Canada, be allow^ed, in consideration of his merit, the pay and rank of 
lieutenant-colonel on the Continental establishment. 

4«5 



486 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

April W, 1776. 

Major Wrixon declined coiiiniis.sioii of Chief Engineer. 

21<ii/ i.s', 177(>. 

Hesolved,, . . . That the pay of the deputy engineers be raised 
to 30 dollars a month, and that the}^ be allowed rations for themselves 
and forage for their horses when in camp or necessarily absent on 
Continental duty. 

J'une 26, 1776. 

Resolved., That Mons. Antoine Felix Weibert, who applies to be 
employed as an engineer in the Continental Army, be recommended to 
General Washington as a person who appears to be qualilied to act in 
that capacity; but as he asks no more at present than to be placed in 
a situation in which he may 1)e enabled to evidence his ability, that 
the General l)e desired to employ him in such a wa}^ as he shall judge 
will best conduce to the good of the service and answer Mons. Wei- 
berfs request. 

July 16, 1776. 

Resolved, That Monsieur Kermo van lie appointed an engineer in the 
Continental service, with the pay of (>( ) dollars a month and the rank of 
lieutenant-colonel. 

July '2S, 1776. 

Resolved, . . . That Monsieur St. Martin ])e appointed an engi- 
neer, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and that he be directed to 
repair to New York and put himself under the command of General 
Washington. 

J(dy W, 1776. 

Resolved, . . . That Mons. Christopher Pelliser, who has suf- 
fered considerably by warmly espousing and taking an active part in 
the cause of America, in Canada, be appointed an engineer in the serv- 
ice of the United States, with the pay of 60 dollars a month and rank 
of lieutenant-colonel. 

August f), 1776. 

Resolved, , . . That Lieutenant-Colonel Ruf us Putnam be ap- 
pointed an engineer, with the rank of colonel and pay of GO dollars a 
month. 

Auynst 12, 177G. — "The Congress have Hkewise l)eeii pleased to apijoint Rnfus 
Putnam, esqr., an engineer, and have given liiiii the rank of colonel of the Army." 
{Orders, General Headquarters, Nev' York.) 

Auyust U, 1776. 

Resolved, That Monsieur Weibert, now serving in the Continental 
Army at New York as an engineer, be appointed assistant engineer, 
with the rank and pa}" of lieutenant-colonel. 



THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS. 487 

September 3, 1776. 

Resolved., That Jeduthan Baldwin, esq., be appointed an engineer 
in the Continental Army, with the rank of colonel and pay of (j() dol- 
lars a month. 

Septemhet^ 19^ 1776. 

Resolved^ . . . That Monsieur Jean Louis Iml^ret, a gentleman 
well recommended as an engineer, be sent to General Washington to 
be employed in that capacity in order to show his abilities, and that 
one month's pay as a captain be advanced for his expenses. 

Octohcr 18, 1776. 

Resolved, That Thaddeus Kosciuszko l)e appointed an engineer in 
the service of the United States, with the pay of sixty dollars a month 
and the rank of colonel. 

AprH m, 1777. 

Resolved, That the Count de Vrecourt be appointed an engineer in 
the service of the United States, with the rank and pay of a colonel. 

2[ay U, 1777. 

Resoh-ed . . . The Commander in Chief and the commander in 
any separate department shall be authorized to allow such quantities 
of forage, and for and during such times as they shall think proper, 
to the . . . chief engineer and his assistants; . . . Provided, 
always, that if any of the ofhcers above mentioned, their deputies or 
assistants, should be allowed forage in consequence of any general order 
hereafter given, and should nevertheless not keep any or so many 
horses as they would ])e permitted to draw forage for, in such case no 
forage shall be issued for more horses than they really have, nor shall 
they at any time thereafter be allowed any forage as Ijack allowance 
or any mone}' in lieu thereof. 

May m, 1777. 

Resolved, That Louis Fleury , engaged by our commissioners i n France, 
be sent as a captain of engineers to General Washington. 

Jnly 8, 1777. 

Resolved, That the treaty made by the commissioners in France on 
the 13th day of February last be confirmed as far as it respects the 
Chevalier du Portail, Mons. de la Radiere, and Mons. de Gouvion; the 
first to be a colonel, the second a lieutenant-colonel, and the third 
major of engineers. 

July £^, 1777. 

Resol V(d, That the Chevalier du Portail, colonel of engineers, take 
rank and command of all engineers heretofore appointed. 



488 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OP GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

July '25, 1777. 

Resolved, . . . That General Washington be empowered to 
appoint Mr. Robert Er.skine, or an^- other person that he may think 
proper, geographer and surveyor of the roads, to take sketches of the 
country, the seat of war, and to have the procuring, governing, and 
pa3dng the guides employed under him; the General to fix the pa}^ of 
the said geographer, etc., and the allowance that shall be made to the 
guides. 

September 17, 1777. — Mr. Charles Tronson du Coudray, having been drowned in 
attempting to cross the Schuylkill, Congress ordered his interment at the expense of 
the United States. On August 11a committee of four — Messrs. Wilson, Duane, Hey- 
ward, and S. Adams — had been appointed to define the powers to be granted him, but 
his death stopped further action, and there is no record that the committee ever 
made a report. 

October 2, 1777.- — The treaty made by Benjamin Franklin and Silas Deane at Paris, 
February 17, 1777, was ratified so far as relating to Mons. de Laumoy. 

m>vernher 17, 1777. 

JResolved, That the Chevalier du Portail Vje appointed to the rank of 
brigadier-general, Mons. do Laumoy and Mons. de la Radiere to that 
of colonel, and Mons. Gouvion to that of lieutenant-colonel in the Army 
of the United States, the said gentlemen to be employed, as heretofore, 
in the capacity of engineers. 

Novemher "2G, 1777. 

Mesolved, That Monsieur Fleury, in consideration of the disinter- 
ested gallantry which he has manifested in the service of the United 
States, be promoted lo the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the Army. 

January 7, 177S. 

Resolved, That the Chevalier De Villefranche be appointed major in 
the Corps of Engineers, under the command of the Brigadier Du Portail. 

FJjruary 7i, 1778. 

Resolved, . . . The ... in the grand arm3^ with the Chief 
Engineer, . . . shall be a subordinate l)oard of ordnance, under 
the direction of the Commander in Chief or the board of war and ord- 
nance, for transacting all business of the Ordnance Department neces- 
sary to be done in the field, and to have the care of all ordnance and 
stores at camp. 

* * * 

Resolved, That Captain Ferdinand De Brahm, who has heretofore 
acted as an engineer in the State of South Carolina, ])c appointed an 
engineer in the Continental establishment, with the rank of major in 
the armies of the United States. 

April 16, 1778. 

Resolved, That a commission of captain be granted to Mr. Capitaine 
in the Corps of Engineers in the service of the United States of Amer- 
ica, and that he rank from the 1st of December, 1776. 



THE CORPS OF ENaiNEERS. 489 

May 27, 1778. 

Resolved,, That in the Eng-incerinu- Dopartniont three companies be 
established, each to consist of — 

1 captain 50 dollars i)ay per month. 

3 lieutenants, each 3oJ do. do. 

4 sergeants, each 10 do do. 

4 corporals, each 9 do do. 

60 privates, each cSj do. do. 

These companies to l)o instructed in the fabrication of lieldworks 
as far as relates to the manual and mechanical part. Their business 
shall be to instruct the fatigue parties to do their duty with celerity 
and exactness, to repair injuries done to the works by the enemy's 
fire, and to prosecute works in the face of it; the commissioned offi- 
cers to be skilled in the necessary branches of mathematics, the non- 
commissioned officers to write a good hand. 

June 9, 1778. — "Three captains and nine Ueutenants are wanted to officer the com- 
pany of sappers. As the corjis will be a school of engineering, it opens a prospect to 
such gentlemen as enter it, and -will pursue the necessary studies with diligence, of 
becoming engineers and rising to the imijortant employments attached to that pro- 
fession, such as the direction of fortified places, etc. The cjualifications required of 
the candidates are that they be natives, and have a knowledge of the mathematics 
and drawing, or, at least, be disposed to apply themselves to those studies. They 
will give in their names at headciuarters." {Orders, General Headquarters, Valley 
Forge. ) 

rlime 13, 1778. 

Resolved, That Mons. du Cambray Ix^ annexed to the Corps of 
Engineers, conmianded hy Ijrigadier Du Portail, with the rank and 
pay of a lieutenant-colonel. 

Sq)tend>er 18, 1778. 

Resolved, That IMons. Bechet de Eoche Fontaine be appointed a 
captain in the Corps of Engineers, and that his commission be dated 
the 15th day of May last. 

January i, 1779.^ 

Resolved, That Brigadier Du Portail and Messrs. de La Radiere, de 
Laumoy, and de Gouvion be retained in the service of the United States 
as engineers for another campaign, if agreeable to their inclination 
and permission can be obtained from His Most Christian Majesty or 
his minister plenipotentiary. 

Resolved, That the Board of War lie directed to confer with Mons. 
Gerard on the subject, and in case Brigadier Du Portail and the other 
engineers shall conclude to remain in the service of the United States 
that the board report to Congress a proper arrangement and appoint- 
ment for the Corps of Engineers. 

' General Washington had expressed his opinion of the merit and abilities of Brig- 
adier-General Du Portail, as being well acquainted with the branch he professes, and 
a gentleman of real knowledge in military science in general; had also a very favor- 
able ojiinion of Messrs. de La Eadiere, de Laumoy, and de Gouvion, who had served 
with reputation as engineers in the Army of the United States; and had represented 
that, in his judgment, they would ])e necessary and useful in future operations. The 
P>oard of War was directed to confer with the French minister and, in case these 
ofliccrs concluded to remain in the service, to report to Congress a proper arrange- 
ment and appointment for the Corps of Engineers. 



490 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Jan iKiry 7-7, 177D. 

Resolved., That Mons. John Barnard de Murnand be appointed a 
major in the Corps of Engineers, to take rank as such from the 1st day 
of March hist and to receive pav and subsistence from the 1: t day of 
Feljruary hist, the hitter l)eino- the time he was employed by Brigadier 
Du Portail and the former the time he was directed by the Commander 
in Chief to act as major. 

March 9, 1779. — "Captain Jeremiah Brewen is to superintend the artificers during 
the absence of Col. Baldwin." {Orders, General Headquarters, Middle-Brook.) 

2f<rrch 11. 1770. 

Jiesolved., That the engineers in the service of tlie United States shall 
be formed into a corps and stjded the " Corps of Engineers," and shall 
take rank and enjoy the same rights, honoi's, and privileges with the 
other troops on the Continental establishment. 

That a commandant of the Corps of Engineers shall be appointed by 
Congress, to whom their ordcM's, or those of the Commander in Chief, 
shall be addressed, and such conuuandant shall render to the Com- 
mander in Chief and to the Board of War an account of every matter 
relative to his department. 

That the engineers shall have rank in their own corps according to 
the date of their respective commissions. 

That every year previous to the opening of the campaign the com- 
mandant of the corps shall propose to the Commander in Chief and to 
the Board of War such a disposition of the engineers as he shall judge 
most advantageous, according to the knowledge which he is supposed 
to have of their talents and capacity. 

Eesedved., That the Board of War be empowered and directed to form 
such regulations for the Corps of Engineers and companies of sappers 
and miners as they judge most conducive to the public service, and 
that the Board report such allowances as they judge adequate and 
reasonal)le to be made to the officers of the Corps of Engineers for 
travelling charges and when on command at a distance from camp or 
in places where they can not draw rations. 

2I,(rrh 10\ 1779. 

Resolved, That all warrant officers on the civil staff of the Army be 
put on the same footing with commissioned officers in respect to 
arrests, trials, and punishments. 

Aj>r!l .7, 1779. 

The Board of War report that the committee appointed at Yorktown 
to confer with Baron Steul)en, having promised to report that Mons. 
L'Enfant should have the conmiission of captain of engineers, and no 
report having been made on that subject, the Board are of the opinion: 

That Mons. L'Enfant be appointed a captain in the Corps of Engi- 
neers in the service of the United States, to hav^e rank from the 18th 
day of February, 177<S. 

Resolved., That Congress agree to the said report. 



THE CORrS OF ENGINEERS. 491 

Mdi/ //, 1770. 

Resolved^ That the pay and subsistence of the engineers and of the 
officers and men of the companies of sappers and miners shall be 
tiie same with those of officers of the like ranks and of the men in the 
artillery of these States. 

That Brigadier-General Du Portail l)e appointed commandant of the 
Corps of Engineers and companies of sappers and miners. 



August 31, 1779. — "Lieutenant Cleveland is appointed captain-lieutenant in the 
corpa of sappers and miners, vice Little, resigned." {Orders, General Head- 
quarters, Moore's Jionse.) 

Ih'cetiiher 24, 1779. — " The honorable the Board of War having procured a small 
supply of shirts and linen, and directed the distribution of them among the officers 
of the . . . staff, who are ncjt adopted by any State: the clothier-general is to 
deliver them upon returns signed by the . . . heads of the following corps and 
dei)artments at the rates directed by a resolve of Congress of the 25th of November 
last. . . . Corps of Engineers, including sappers and miners; . . . military 
surveyors." {Orders, General Headquarters, Morrlstown.) 

Jannanj io, 17S0. 

Whereas Brigadier-General Du Portail and Colonel Laumoy and 
Lieutenant-Colonel de Gouvion have continued in the service of the 
United States, pursitant to a resolution of Congress of the 1st of Jan- 
uary, 1779, and under a permission from the minister plenipotentiary 
of His Most Christian Majestv, and have obtained from the Commander 
in Chief ample testimonials of honorable and useful services rendered 
during the last campaign: 

ResoJi'i'd^ That Brigadier-General Du Portail and Messieurs Laumoy 
and Gouvion be retained in the service of the United States (if per- 
mission can be ol)tained for that purpose from His Most Christian Maj- 
esty or his uiinistcr plenipotentiary) so long, during the present war, 
as shall be consistent with their inclinations and dut}" as officers to 
their King. 

February 7, 1780. 

Resolved^ That the officers attached to the companies of sappers and 
miners be commissioned, and rank as foUow^s: 

Mr. Nevin, captain, April 25th, 1779; Mr. Bebee, Mr. Murray, Mr. 
Du Veil, captains; Mr. Gilliland, Mr. Bushnell, Mr. Cleveland, cap- 
tain-lieutenants, August 2, 1779; Mr. Welsh, lieutenant. 

Mireh .//, 17H0. 

Resolved., That Mr. Nevin be appointed a captain of engineers, to 
rank from the 25th of April, 1779. 

March 29, 17S0. — General Du Portail was ordered to the southern department, and 
imt himself under (ieneral Lincoln or the commanding officer of that deiaartment. 

Jnhi ;.), I7SI). — General W\ Portail being a prisoncrof war on parole and his serv- 
ices beingdeemed essential for tlie success of the operations of the ensumg campaign, 
Congress requested General Washington to endeavor to obtain his exchange. 



492 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OB^ G^^ERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

July 16, 1780. 

Remlved, That . . . there be issued ... as many rations 
as the service shall re(|uire. 

captain of engineers, one; . 

July 23, 17 SO. — "As in the course of the campaign a good corps of sapp?rs and 
miners will be extremely useful and absolutely necessary, the General directs that 
one man be drawn from each regiment for this purpose; an able-bodied m-.n, intelli- 
gent, sober, and engaged for the war." {Orders, General Headquarters, Praconess.) 

Augusts, 17S0. — "Lt. "Welch, of the corps of sappers and miners, is appointed 
quartermaster to the same." 

"The men in the corps of sapjjersand miners are to be furnished with good French 
arms and accoutrements froni- the regiments, respectively, from which they were 
drafted." 

( Orders, Genertd Headquarlers, Peekskill. ) 

August 3, 1780. — "Lt. Col. Gouvion will take the command of the corps of sappers 
and miners." {Orders, General Headquarters, PeeksJcdl.) 

November J, 17S0. 

Resolved, That Colonel Jeduthan Bakhvin continue to receive the 
pay of colonel of engineers, as heretofore. 

Novemler IJ^, 1780. 

Resolved, . . . That the Commander in Chief be directed to lay 
before Congress a return of the officers of the Engineering Department, 
including those of the companies of sappers and miners, and distin- 
guish such as, in his judgment, it will be necessary to retain in service, 
in order that the officers of that department who shall be retained in 
service may l)e put on an equal establishment with the officers of the 
line, and that provision ma}^ be made for such as shall be reduced. 

Decemher ,^, 1780. 

Resolved, That Mr. Simeon Do Witt be appointed geographer to the 
Arm}", in the room of Robert Erskine, deceased. 

Fehruary 26, 1781. 

Resolved, That it be recommended to the State of Massachusetts to 
make up to Richard Gridley the depreciation of his pay as engineer 
at 60 dollars per month from the time of his appointment to the 1st 
day of January, 1781, in like manner with other officers in the Conti- 
nental service, and charge the same to the United States. 

That from and after the said first day of January, 1781, Colonel 
Gridley be considered as a retiring officer. 

Ap7<l M, 1781. 

Resolved, That the superintendent of finance be, and he is hereby, 
authorized to remove from office or employment, for incapacity, neg- 
ligence, dishonesty, or other misbehavior, such persons not inmiediately 
appointed liy the United States in Congress assembled as are or may 
be officially entrusted with and immediately employed in the expend- 
iture of the public supplies, stores, and other property; . . . and 



THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS. 493 

such of the said persons as are or may be in his judgment unnecessary, 
reportini>- to such authority, l)oard, minister, or office to whom it may 
l)elong- to supply the vacancy the respective names of the persons so 
removed. 

That he be authorized to suspend from office or employment for 
similar causes persons officially employed and entrusted as aforesaid 
immediately appointed by the United States in Congress assembled, 
reporting forthwith their names and the reason of suspension: 

Provicled that in all eases where any of the persons aforesaid are or 
may be amenable to the law martial the superintendent be, and he is 
hereby, authorized and directed, if he shall deem it most expedient for 
the public service, to put them in arrest by order in writing-, and to 
apply to the officer whose duty it may be to order a court-martial; 
and such officer is hereb}^ directed to order proceedings on the arrest 
accordingh" ; 

That in every case of suspension all pa}^ and emolument cease from 
the date thereof, unless the persons suspended be, upon trial, acquitted 
and restored; and the superintendent shall have power to supply the 
place, when it may be necessary, by a temporary appointment, to con- 
tinue until the person suspended bo restored or dismissed; 

That the aforesaid powers shall not be construed to interfere with 
the rank, commission, or military duty of any officer in the line of the 
Army, or those who may be duly entrusted with money for secret serv- 
ice by Congress, or the Commander in Chief of the Army, or command- 
ing officer of a separate department; 

That the powers aforesaid be exercised during the pleasure of Con- 
gress, but not to extend beyond the duration of the war. 

3£ay 4, 1781. 

Mesolvefl^ That Thomas Hutchins be appointed geographer to the 
southern army, with the same pay and emoluments as are allowed to 
the geographer to the main Army. 

June 19, 1781. — "Capt.-Lieut. Gilliland, of the corps of sappers and miners, is pro- 
moted to the rank of Cajit. in the same, vice Murray, resigned the 1st June, 1781, 
and Capt.-I^ieut. BushneH, of the same corps, is promoted to the rank of captain, 
vice Beebe, resigned 8th June, 1781." "Jonathan Lawrence, esq., heutenant in late 
INlalcohii's regiment, is appointed to the rank of captain in the corps of sappers and 
miners, his commission to bear date from the 12th June, 1781." {Orders, General 
Headquarters, Nevi Windsor.) 

Jidi/ L', 17S1. — "Peter Taulman, esq., heutenant in late Col. Spencer's regt., is 
ai)pointed captain-lieutenant in the corps of sappers and miners." [Orders, General 
Headquarters, Tarr[itoini. ) 

July 11, 1781. 

Resolved ., That the geographer to the main Arniy, and also the 
geographer to the southern army, be stiled ''•geographer of the United 
States of America," and commissioned and considered as such; and 
that they perform such services as the Commander in Chief and com- 
manding officer of the southern army ma}^ judge necessary to assign 
them, respectively. 

Juhj 25, 1781. — "Lieut. Kirkpatrick, late Colonel Spencer's regt., is appointed 
captain-lieutenant in the corps of sappers and miners." {Orders, General Ilead- 
(jiairters, near Dulili's Ferry. ) 

Xoremher 11, 1781. — Captain Jacob Schreiber, engineers (who had served in the 
capacity from INhirch 2, 1780), was permitted to return to ICurope as Congress, though 
conscious of his merit, had no means of employing him in the rank he requires. 



49-4 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

NoveDibei' 16^ 1781. 

Resolved., That Brigadier-General du Portail,^ commanding officer of 
the Corps of Engineers, in consideration of his meritorious services, 
and particularly of his distinguished conduct in the siege of York, in 
the State of Virginia, be, and he is hereby, promoted to the rank of 
major-general. 

Resolved, That Lieutenant-Colonel Gouvion/ of the Corps of Engi- 
neers, receive the brevet of colonel. 

Resolved., That Captain Rochefontaine, of the Corps of Engineers, 
oceive the brevet of major. 

2[arch 8, 1782. 

Resolved., That Captain James Elliott be, and he is herel)y, appointed 
an assistant geographer to the United States, and that his ])ay be two 
dollars and one ration per day, and that this allowance be considered 
in full for all claims that the said Captain James Elliott may have on 
the United States for half pay or any other emolument after the war, 
agreeably to his proposal. 

Aj^ril 2S, 178'2. 

Resolved, . . . That the supernumerary junior lieutenants, 
beyond the number of ten in each regiment of infantry, 1)0 reduced; 
. except such of them as shall accept of appointments in the stati' 
departments, with the approbation of the heads of the respective 
departments, in which case they shall severally retain their respective 
ranks in the Army, and be entitled to the full pay and subsistence belong- 
ing to their rank in the line as a compensation for their respective services 
in the stafi', without any other allowance whatsoever. 

April 26, 17S:2. — Coloiiel Jeduthan Baldwin was considered as a supernumerary 
officer retiring from the service. 

. October 22, 1782. 

Resolved^ . . . That the following be the proi)orti()n of wagons 
and bathorses to the difl'erent ranks of officers: . 

Major-general and family, one covered four-horse wagon and one 
two-horse wagon. 

Brigadier-general and family, one covered four-horse wagon. 

Colonel, lieutenant-colonel, and major, one covered four-horse wagon. 

-X- * ■'.': 

That there shall be allowed for saddle horses: 

To a major-general and family 7 rations 

Brigadier-general and family 5 do 

Colonel -" '> do 

Lieutenant-colonel . - '^ do 

Major 2 do 

Captain of engineers 1 do 

-;:- x- -x- 

Oetoher SO, 17S2. — Lieutenant-Colonel du Cambray was granted leave for twelve 
months to visit his family in France. 

^ General du Portail and Col. Gouvion were granted leave of absence from the United 
States for six months. 



THE COlirS OF ENGINEERS. -495 

November m, 1782. 

Resolved, That the geographer to the main army and the geographer 
to the southern department be each of them allowed 60 dollars per 
month, three rations per day, forage for two saddle horses, one two- 
horse covered wagon, Gild dollars per month for a servant, for whom 
they shall be entitled to draw one ration per dav and the clothing 
allowed to a private soldier. 

That the assistant geographer, if such officers shall be judged neces- 
sary by the Commander in Chief, be allowed 30 dollars per month, one 
ration per day, and forage for one saddle horse. 

February 26, 1783. — "Captain Bnshnell, being the senior officer, will have the com- 
mand of the corps of sappers and miners until further orders, and Captain Delezeume. 
of the Corps of Engineers, will report to headquarters immediately by what authority 
lie came to the garrison of West Point and assumed the command of the sappers and 
miners." {Orders, General Headquarters, Newburgh) . 

May '2, 1783. 

Resolved., That Lieutenant-Colonel Cambray, of the Corps of Engi- 
neers, be promoted to the rank of colonel b}^ brevet. 

That Major Villefranche, of the said corps, be promoted to the rank 
of lieutenant-colonel by brevet, and that Captain L'Enfant, of the said 
corps, be promoted to the rank of major by brevet. 

October 10, 1783.' 

Resolved, That Major-Gen eral duPortail, Brigadier-General Laumoy, 
and Colonel Gouvion,who have served with distinguished merit in the 
Department of Engineers, have leave to retire from the service of the 
United States. . . . 

October 31, 17S3.—T:\w Secretary at War reported that the Corps of Engineers, 
sappers and miners had accepted the commutation of five years' pay in lieu of half 
pay for life. 

February 6, 1784- 

Resolved, That a brevet connnission of lieutenant-colonel ))e issued 
to Major de Brahm, of the late Corps of Engineers, and that he be 
informed that his further services are dispensed with. 

January 25, 1785. — Congress referred to a committee a letter from Major L' Enfant 
enclosing a memorial on the necessity of establishing a Corps of Engineers, and a dis- 
sertation on the qualifications of an engineer. 

Jane 10, 1785. 

Resolved, That in settling the accounts of Mr. Thomas Hutchins, 
geographer to the United States, he be allowed four dollars and four 
rations a day from the time of his accepting his commission to the 3rd 
day of Novem])er, 1783, and that he be allowed four dollars a day from 
that period to the 20th day of May, 1785, deducting therefrom the 
time he was employed and paid by the State of Pennsylvania. 

June 30, 1786. — Congress authorized the settlement of Captain Elliott's accounts 
to October 20, 1783, and no longer, thus indicating the length of his service as assist- 
ant geographer. 

' The Secretary at War was directed to express to the French minister the high 
sense Congress emertain of the zeal, ability, and conduct of these officers, and, Octo- 
ber Ki, the agent of marine was directed to provide them with a i)assage to France in 
the ship Washington. 



496 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

STATUTES AT LARGE. 

February 23, 1795 (1-419). — This act established, in the Treasury Department, the 
office of purveyor of pubhc suppUes. His duties were to conduct the procurinij: and 
providing tf all military stores, etc. His compensation was fixed at $2,000 per 
annum, and letters to and from hini were to be conveyed free of postage. The office 
was abolished after May 31, 1812, by the act of March 28, 1812 (2-696). 

Act of March 3, 1790 {1 AStafs., 74D). 

AN ACT for the better organizing of the troops of the United States, and for other 

purposes. 
* * * 

Sec. 17. That the President of the United States l)e authorized to 
engage and appoint, distinct from the officers of the corps of artiller- 
ists and engineers, two engineers, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, 
and to stipulate and allow to them, respectively, such compensations as 
he shall find necessary and expedient. 

Sec. 18. That an inspector of fortifications shall be appointed, whose 
duties shall be assigned by the Secretary of War, under the direction 
of the President of the United States; that the compensation to ))e 
allowed to the said inspector, if selected from the corps of artillerists 
and engineers, in full for his extra services and travelling expenses, 
shall, besides his pay and emoluments in the corps, be thirty -five dol- 
lars per month; and if he shall not be an oflicer in the artiller}^ or 
Army, he shall, in full compensation for his services and expenses, be 
allowed the sum of seventy-five dollars monthly, and be entitled to 
the rank of major in the Army of the United States; and in case the 
said inspector shall be chosen from the corps of artillerists and engi- 
neers, or Army of the United States, his place therein shall be supplied 
by promotion, or a new appointment, or both, as may be requisite; 
but he shall nevertheless retain his station in the said corps or Army, 
and shall rank and rise therein in the same manner as if he had never 
been appointed in the said oflBce of inspector. 



Act of Marc] I 10, 180^3 (^ Stats., 13^. 

AN ACT fixing the military peace establishment of tlie United States. 
% * % 

Sec. 1. That the monthly pay of the officers . . . be as follows, 
to wit: ... to each major, fifty dollars; . . . ; to each cap- 
tain, forty dollars; to each first lieutenant, thirty dollars; to each 
second lieutenant, twent3'^-five dollars; . . 

Sec. 5. That the commissioned officers aforesaid shall be entitled to 
receive for their daily subsistence the following number of rations of 
provisions: ... A major, four rations; a captain, three rations; 
a lieutenant, two rations; ... or money in lieu thereof at the 
option of the said ofiicers ... at the posts, respectively, when the 
rations shall become due: and if at such posts supplies are not furnished 
by contract, then such allowance as shall be deemed equitable, having 
reference to former contracts and the position of the place in ques- 
tion; . . . and to every commissioned officer who shall keep one 
servant, not a soldier of the line, one additional ration. 



THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS. 497 

Sec. 26. That the President of the United States is hereby author- 
ized and empowered, when he shall deem it expedient, to organize and 
establish a corps of engineers, to consist of one engineer, with the pay, 
rank, and emoluments of a major; two assistant engineers, with the 
pay, rank, and emoluments of captains; two other assistant engineers, 
with the pa3% rank, and emoluments of second lieutenants; and ten 
cadets, with the pay of sixteen dollars per month and two rations per 
day; and the President of the United States is in like manner author- 
ized, when he shall deem it proper, to make such promotions in the 
said corps, with a view to particular merit, and without regard to rank, 
so as not to exceed one colonel, one lieutenant-colonel, two majors, four 
captains, four first lieutenants, and four second lieutenants, and so that 
the number of the Avhole corps shall at no time exceed twent}^ officers 
and cadets. 

Sec. 27. That the said corps when so organized shall be stationed 
at Westpoint, in the State of New York, and shall constitute a mili- 
tar}^ acadeni}"; and the engineers, assistant engineers, and cadets of the 
said corps shall be subject, at all times, to do duty in such places and 
on such service as the President of the United States shall direct. 

Sec. 28. That the principal engineer, and in his absence the next in 
rank, shall have the superintendence of the said military academ}^ 
under the direction of the President of the United States; and the 
Secretary of War is hereby authorized, at the public expense, under 
such regulations as shall be directed by the President of the United 
States, to procure the necessary books, implements, and apparatus for 
the use and benefit of the said institution. 



Act of Fdynmrij 3S, 1803 (^ Stats., 206). 

AN ACT ill addition to ;ui act entitle<l "An act fixing the military establishment of 

the United States." 
■;;- * •"• 

Sec. 2. That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, 
authorized to appoint one teacher of the French language and one 
teacher of drawing, to be attached to the Corps of Engineers, whose 
compensation shall not exceed the pa}^ and emoluments of a captain in 
the line of the Army. 

Sec. 3. That the commanding officer of the Corps of Engineers be 
authorized to enlist, for a term not less than three years, one artificer 
and eighteen men to aid in making practical experiments, and for other 
purposes; to receive the same pay, rations, and clothing as are allowed 
to the artificers and privates in the Army of the United States, and 
the same bounty when enlisted for five j^ears, and to be subject to the 
Rules and Articles of War. 



Act of April, 10, 1806 (2 Stats., 3o9). 

AN ACT estahlishiiii,' rules and articles for the government of 11i(> armies of the 

United States. 

* * * 

Article 63. The functions of the engineers being generally confined 
to the most elevated branch of military service, they are not to assume 

S. Doc. 229 32 



498 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

nor arc they subject to be ordered ou an}" duty bej^ond the line of thoi. 
immediate profession, except b}" the special order of the President of 
the United States; but they are to receive every mark of respect to 
which their rank in the Army may entitle them, respectively, and are 
liable to be transferred, at the discretion of the President, from one 
corps to another, reo-ard beino- paid to rank. 

-X- -X- -X- 

Act of April SO, 1812 {2 ,Sfafs., 720). 

AN ACT making further provision for the Corps of Engineers. 

That there be added to the Corps of Engineers two captains, two 
first lieutenants, two second lieutenants, with the usual pay and emolu- 
ments according to their grade, respectively, and one paymaster, to be 
taken from the subalterns of engineers, with the pay and emoluments 
of a regimental paymaster; and that there be attached to the said 
corps, either from the troops now in service or by new enlistments, as 
the President of the United States may direct, four sergeants, four 
corporals, one teacher of music, four musicians, nineteen artiticers, and 
sixty -two men, which noncommissioned officers, musicians, artiticers, 
and men, together with the artificers and men already belonging to the 
Corps of Engineers, shall l)e formed into a company, to be styled a 
company of bombardiers, sappers, and miners, and ])e officered from 
the Corps of Engineers, according as the commanding officer of that 
corps may, with the approbation of the President of the United States, 
direct; and the said noncommissioned officers, musicians, artificers, and 
men, shall be allowed the same pay tuid emoluments as are allowed to 
the noncommissioned officers, nmsicians, artificers, and men in the 
regiment of artillerists. 

Sec. 2. And he it furtJur enacted. That the Military Acadeni}" shall 
consist of the Corps of Engineers and the following professors, in 
addition to the teachers of the Fi'ench language and drawing already 
provided, viz: One professor of natural and experimental philosophy, 
with the pay and emoluments of lieutenant-colonel if not an officer of 
the corps, and if taken from the corps, then so much in addition to his 
pay and emoluments as shall equal those of a lieutenant-colonel; one 
professor of mathematics, with the pa}^ and emoluments of a major if 
not an officer of the corps, and if taken from the corps, then so much 
in addition to his pa}^ and emoUnnents as shall equal those of a major; 
one professor of the art of engineering in all its branches, with the pay 
and emoluments of a major if not an officer of the corps, and if taken 
from the corps, then so much in addition to his pay and emoluments 
as shall equal those of a major; each of the foregoing professors to 
have an assistant professor, which assistant professor shall betaken 
from the most prominent characters of the officers or cadets, and 
receiA'e the pay and emoluments of captains, and no other pay or 
emoluments, while performing these duties: Pivvlded, That nothing 
herein contained shall entitle the academical stall', as such, to an^^ com- 
mand in the Army separate from the Academy. 

-X- -X- -X- 

Sec. 6. That so nuicli of the twent3^-sixth section of the act entitled 
"An act fixing the military peace establishment," passed the 16th day 
of March, 1(S02, as confines the selection of the conunander of the 
Cor])s of Engineers to the said coi'ps be, and the same is herel^v, 
repealed. 



THE COEPS OF ENGINEEKS. 499 

Act of Marrl> J, ISIJ^ i(2 Stats., SW). 

AN ACT fur the better organization of the general .staff of the Army of the United 

States. 

That [there shall be] eight topographical engineers, eight assistant 
topographical engineers, . 

* * -x- 

Sec. 3. That . . . the . . . topographical engineers shall 
have the brevet rank and the pay and emoluments of a major of cavalry; 
and the assistant topographical engineers . . . shall have the 
brevet rank and the pay and emoluments of a captain of infantr}'. 

Sec. 4, That the . . . assistant topographical engineers shall be 
taken from the line. The . . . topographical engineers . . . 
mav be taken from the line, or not, as the President may deem expe- 
dient. . . 

■X- * * 

Act of 3f arch 3, 1815 {S Stats., 224). 

AN ACT fixing the military peace establinhment of the United States. 

That . . . the Corps of Engineers, as at present established, be 
retained. 



Act of April 24., IS 16 {S Stats., 297). 

AN AC;T fur organizing tlie general staff, and making further provisions for the Army 

of the United States. 

That, in addition to the act providing for a military peace establish- 
ment, the provisions of the act of March the third, one thousand eight 
hundred and thirteen, for the better organization of the general staff, be, 
and the same are hereby, so far established that the general stall' shall 
iu future consist of . . . three topographical engineers. . . . 



ResoliUion of April 29, 1816^ (3 Stats., SJfSS). 

RESOLUTION authorizing the President of the United States to empluy a skilful 
assistant in the Corps of Engineers. 

That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, author- 
ized to employ, in addition to the Corps of Engineers as now estaldished, 
a skilful assistant,^ whose compensation shall be such as the President 
of the United States shall think proper, not exceeding the allowance 
to the chief officer of that corps. 

^ The superintendent general of military supplies authorized to be appointed under 
this act was not a staff officer, but a civilian with a salary of $3,000 per annum. His 
duties were to keep proper accounts of all military stores and supplies of every 
description purchased for the Army, tlie volunteers, and the militia, and to pre- 
scribe forms of all the returns and accounts of such stores and supplies, etc. 

' Repealed l)y resolution No. 8, July 14, 1832. (4-607.) 

•'Ceni'ral Simon Bernard was born at Dole, France, April 28, 1779, and after 
irraduatiim from the Polvtechnic School entered the army. He was appointed aid- 
de-camp to the Emperor iu 1813; was successively made general of brigade and gen- 



500 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Resolation of April W, 1818 {3 Stats., J^76). 

RESOLUTION directing the completion of the survey of the waters of the Chesa- 
peake Bay, and for other purposes. 

That ... to the naval officers employed in this service officers 
of the Corps of Engineers be joined, with instructions to prepare 
plans of the fortifications necessary to be erected for the defense of 
such arsenals [naval] with an estimate of the expense of erecting the 
same. . . . 

Act of March ^, 1821 (3 Stats., 615). 

AN ACT to reduce :uid fix tlie mihtary peace establishment of the United States. 
-X- * * 

Sec 3. That the Corps of Engineers (bombardiers excepted) and 
the topographical engineers and their assistants shall be retained in 
service as at present organized. 

* . * * 

Act (f March 3, 189.3 {3 Stats., 788). 
AN ACT to estal)lish a national armory on the western waters. 

That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, author- 
ized to emplo}^ a skillful engineer, . . . with such other person or 
persons as he may judge proper, to examine the most suitable site for 
a national armory on the western waters; and that the said engineer 
and such other person or persons be requested to report the result of 
their examination to Congress at the commencement of its next ses- 
sion, particularly designating the sites by them examined, with the 
comparative advantages of each, and an estimate showing the amount 
necessary for purchasing each, and erecting all necessary buildings 

thereon. 

* * * 

Act of April 30, 1824. (4- Stats., 22). 

AN ACT to ])rocure the necessary surveys, plans, and estimates upon the subject of 

roads and canals. 

* -x- * 

Sec. 2. That to carry into effect the objects of this act, the Presi- 
dent be, and he is hereb}^, authorized to emplo}^ two or more skillful 

eral of division, ending his military career at Waterloo in 1815. Refusmg the 
brilliant offers of several sovereigns of Europe, he obtained permission from Louis 
XVIII to come to the United States, and November 16, 1816, was commissioned 
"Assistant in the Corps of Engineers of the United States" with the rank of briga- 
dier-general by brevet, and the compensation that "is or may be allowed to the chief 
of thatcorjis." He devised a system of canals and roads for connecting the Great 
Lakes and navigable rivers and a scheme for the defense of the coast, constructing 
Fortress Monroe, some of the defenses of New York, and other works. Resigning 
August 10, 1831, he returned to France and was intrusted by Louis Philippe with 
the preparation of plans for the fortifications of Paris. He was strongly in favor of 
a system of detached forts, which was afterwards carried out. In 1834 he was for a 
short time minister of war and, ad interim, minister of foreign affairs. In LS36 he 
was made minister of war for a second time and held that office for three years. He 
(.lied in Paris November 5, 1839. 



THE CORPS OF ENOINEERS, 501 

civil engineers, and such officers of the Corps of Engineers, or who 
may be detailed to do dutj' with that corps, as he may think 
proper. . 

May IS, 1826 {4-173). — In case of deficiency of any article of military supplies or 
of <laniage to such supjjlies, the value of the deficient articles or that of the damage, 
to l)e charged against the responsible officer unless he can show that the deficiency 
or damage was not occasioned by any fault on his part. 

Act of July 3, 1832, {If. Stats., ofil). 

AN ACT making appropriations for certain internal improvements for the year one 
thousand eight hundred and thirtv-two. 



Sec. 2. That so much of the second section of the act for the con- 
tinuation of the Cumberland road, approved March third, one 
thousand eight hundred and twenty-five, as authorizes the President, 
with the advice of the Senate, to appoint a superintendent thereof, be, 
and the same is hereb}^ repealed, and that the work in the State of 
Ohio be continued by the War Department under the superintendence 
of an officer of engineers. 

Act of March 2, 1833 (^ Stats., 650). 

AN ACT for the construction of a road from the Mississippi River to William 
Strong's, on the St. Francis River, in the Territory of Arkansas. 

* * -x- 

. . . : Provided, That the said sum [^100,000] be expended under 
the direction of such military engineer as the President may appoint: 
And provided cdso. That no part of the said sum of mone}^ shall be 
expended until a careful survey and estimate shall have been made of 
the cost of the road b}^ a competent engineer, and that the said survey 
and estimate shall have been previously submitted to and approved by 
the Secretary of War and the President of the United States. 

Act of June H, 1S34. {I^ Stats., 680). 

AN ACT for the continuation and repair of tlie Cumberland road. 
* * * 

Sec. 2. That an officer of the Corps of Engineers, to be selected by 
the Department of War, shall be charged with the disbursements of 
the moneys appropriated for the construction of the Cumberland road 
through the States of Indiana and Illinois; and that said officer shall 
have, under the direction of the Engineer Department, a general con- 
trol over the operations of the said road and overall persons employed 
thereon: Provided, That no percentage shall be allowed to such officer 
for disbursing moneys appropriated for the construction of said road. 



Act of June 30, 1831^ (^ Stats., 723). ■ 

AN ACT authorizing a road to be cut from the northern boundary of the Territory 
of Florida, by ]\Iarianna, to the town of Apalachicola, within the said Territory. 

. . . Provided, That the said road shall be cut out by contract, 
and that no money shall be paid at any time on account thereof but on 



502 LEGJSLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF TJ. S. ARMY. 

the certiticate of an engineer of the Army of the United States that 
the said I'oad has been faithf ulh' constructed according to the terms of 
such contract. 



Act of July 2, 1836 {5 Stats., 80). 

AN ACT to change the organization of the Post-Otfice Department and to provide 
more effectually for the settlement of the accounts thereof. 



Sec. 8. . . . And all letters and packets to and from the Chief 
Engineer >\ hich may relate to the business of his office shall be free of 
postage. 



Act Of July .5, 1838 {5 Stats., 256). 

AN ACT to increase the present military establishment of the TTnited States, and 

for other purposes. 

-X- * * 

Sec. 2. That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, 
authorized to add to the Corps of Engineers, whenever he ma}" deem 
it expedient to increase the same, one lieutenant-colonel, two majors, 
six captains, six first and six second lieutenants; and that the pay and 
emoluments of the said corps shall be the same as those allowed to the 
officers of the regiment of dragoons. 

Sec. 3. That so much of the act passed the twenty-ninth day of 
April, one thousand eight hundred and twelve, entitled "An act mak- 
ing further provision for the Corps of Engineers," as provides that 
one paymaster shall be taken from the subalterns of the Corps of 
Engineers, lie, and the same is hereb}^, repealed; and that the pay- 
master so authorized and provided be attached to the Pay Department, 
and be in every respect placed on the footing of other paymasters of 
the Army. 

Sec. -J:. That the Corps of Topographical Engineers shall be organ- 
ized and increased by regular promotions in the same, so that the said 
corps shall consist of one colonel, one lieutenant- colonel, four majors, 
ten captains, ten tirst lieutenants, and ten second lieutenants. 

Sec, 5. That vacancies created by said organization, over and above 
those which can be tilled by the present corps, shall be taken from the 
Arm}', and from such as it may be deemed advisable of the civil engi- 
neers employed under the act of the thirtieth of April, eighteen hun- 
dred and twent3"-four; that the pay and emoluments of the officers of 
said corps shall be the same as are allowed to officers of similar rank 
in the regiments of dragoons. 

Sec. 6. That the authority to employ civil engineers, in the act of 
the thirtieth of April, eighteen hundred and twenty-four, be, and the 
same is hereliy, repealed after the passage of this act. 
* * * 

Sec. 21. That all letters and packages on public business to and 
from the . . . head of the topographical corps shall be free from 
postage. 



THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS. 503 

Sec. 27. That it .shall be the duty of the engineer superintending the 
consti'uction of a fortification, or engaged about the execution of any 
other public work, to disburse the moneys applicable to the same; 
and, as a compensation therefor, may be allowed by the Secretary 
of War at the rate of two dollars per diem during the continuance of 
such disbursements: Provided^ That the whole amount of emoluments 
shall not exceed one per cent on the sum disbursed. 



Ad of July 7, 18S8 {5 Stats., 308). 

AN ACT pupplementar}' to an act entitled "An act to increase the present military 
establishment of the United States, and for other purposes," approved July fifth, 
eighteen hundred and thirty-eight. 

That the act to which this is a supplement shall l)e, and the same 
hereb}^ is, explained, limited, and modilied as follows: 

-X- * * 

Sixth. That no compensation shall be allowed to officers of the 
Engineer Department for disbursement of public money while supei in- 
tending public works. 



Act of March 3, 181^3 {5 Stats., 630). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the civil and diplomatic expenses of the Gov- 
ernment for the fiscal year ending the thirtieth day of June, eighteen hundred and 
fortv-four. 

* * * 

For survey of the coast of the United States . . . : Provided, 
That this, and all other appropriations hereafter to be made for this 
work shall, until otherwise provided by law, be expended in accordance 
with a plan of reorganizing the mode of executing the survey, to be 
submitted to the President of the United States h\ a board of officers 
which shall be organized by him, to consist of . . . four from 
among the principal officers of the Corps of Topographical Engineers; 
none of whom shall receive any additional compensation whatever for 
this service; and who shall sit as soon as organized . . . and the 
plan of said board shall cause to be employed as many officers of the 
Army ... of the United States as will be compatible with the 
successful prosecution of the work; . . . the officers of the Army 
on the topographical parts of the work; and no officer of the 
Army . . . shall hereafter receive any extra pay out of this or 
any future appropriations for surve3"s. 



Act of May 16, 18J^6 (f) Stats., 13). 

AN ACT for the organization of a company of sappers, miners, and pontoniers. 

That there be added to the Corps of Engineers one company of sap- 
pers, miners, and pontoniers, to be called engineer soldiers; which 
company shall bo composed of ten sergeants or master workmen, ten 
corporals or overseers, two musicians, thirty-nine privates of the 
first class, or artificers, and thirty-nine privates of the second class, or 
laborers; in all one hundred men. 



50J: LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Sec. 2. That the pay and i-ations of the sergeants, or master work- 
men, of said company" shall be the same as those now allowed by law 
to the master workmen employed by the Ordnance Department, except- 
ing that the engineer sergeants shall receive one ration onl}^ per day 
instead of one ration and a half ; of the corporals, or overseers, the same 
as those now allowed by law to the armorers, carriage makers, and 
blacksmiths employed by the Ordnance Department, excepting that 
the engineer corporals shall receive one ration only per day instead of one 
ration and a half; of the privates of the first class, or artificers, the 
same as those now allowed l)y law to the artificers employed by the 
Ordnance Department; of the privates of the second class, or laborers, 
the same as now allowed by law to the laborers employed by the Ord- 
nance Department; and of the musicians, the same as those allowed by 
law to the musicians of the line of the Army; the said noncommissioned 
officers, privates, and musicians being respectivelv entitled to the same 
clothing and other allowances as are granted by law to noncommis- 
sioned officers, privates, and musicians of the artillery in the Army of 
the United States. 

Sec. 8. That the said engineer company shall l)e su))ject to the Rules 
and Articles of War, shall be recruited in the same manner and with the 
same limitation, and shall be entitled to the same provisions, allow- 
ances, and benefits in every respect as are allowed to the other troops 
constituting the present military peace establishment. 

Sec. 4. That the said engineer company shall be attached to and 
compose a part of the Corps of Engineers and be officered by officers 
of that corps as at present organized; they shall be instructed in and 
perform all the duties of sappers, miners, and pontoniers, and shall 
aid in giving practical instructions in these branches at the Military 
Academy; they shall, moreover, under the orders of the Chief Engi- 
neer, be liable to serve, by detachments, in overseeing and aiding 
laborers upon fortifications or other works under the Engineer Depart- 
ment and in supervising finished fortifications as fort keepers, prevent- 
ing injury, and applying repairs. 

Sec. 5. That the Chief Engineer, with the approbation of the Secre- 
tary of War, be authorized to regulate and determine the number, 
quality, form, dimensions, etc., of the necessary vehicles, pontons, 
tools, implements, arms, and other supplies for the use and service of 
said company as a body of sappers, miners, and pontoniers. 
* * * 

March 3, 1847 [9-175). — The works at Gary's Fort Reef, Florida, near Wango- 
shance, Mich.; Minot's Rock, Massachusetts; Whale's Back, New Hampshire; Fair- 
weatlier Island, near Black Rock, Connecticut; and Brandywine Shoals in the Dela- 
ware River, Pennsylvania, to be executed under the superintendence of the Topo- 
graphical Bureau. 

Jtihj 10, 1848 [9-246). — Provisions of pension laws construed to apply to enlisted 
men in the several corps of the Army. 

Act of March 3, 1849 {9 Stats., S70). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending the 
thirtieth of June, one thousand eight hundred and fifty. 



Sec. 3. That any noncommissioned officer, musician, or private, in 
the company of sappers and miners and pontoniers, raised by the act 



THE CORPS OF EISTGHSTEERS. 505 

of May ninth, eighteen hundred and forty -eight, who served in said 
conipan}' in the war with Mexico, shall, on application, be entitled to 
receive an honorable discharge from the service of the United States, 
and stand as if they had served out their respective terms. 

March 3, 1849 {9-380). — AVhen expenditure is to be made under direction of Bureau 
of Topographical Engineers, necessary preliminary surveys to determine site of pro- 
posed light-house or liglit-boat shall be made by officers of the corps possessing requi- 
site skill and experience, who shall make report of the result of their examinations. 

Septemher 28, 1850 {9-504). — Moneys received from the sale of military stores and 
other supplies exempted from operation of act of INIarch 3, 1849, requiring certain 
moneys to be paid into the Treasury without alxitement or reduction. 

March 3, 1851 {9-627). — Colonel of Corps of Topographical Engineers charged with 
making preliminary surveys to determine sites of proposed light-houses, light-boats, 
beacons, and bouys on the northwestern lakes; two engineer officers to form part of 
of a board to inquire into condition of the Light-House Establishment; details of engi- 
neer officers may be made to superintend construction and renovation of light-houses. 

August SO, 1852 {10-56). — A board of topographical and civil engineers to be 
appointed by the Secretary of War to report upon expediency of an additional canal 
around the Falls of the Ohio River and comparative cost, advantages, and disadvan- 
tages of enlarging and extending the present canal so as to avoid the rocks at Sandy 
Island. 

August 31, 1852 {10-76).- — If the superintendence of constructing the custom-house 
at New Orleans be confided to an officer of the topographical engineers, he shall be 
allowed a compensation not exceeding $5 per day. 

Act of August 31, 1852 {10 Stats., im). 

AN ACT making appropriations for light-houses, light-boats, buoys, etc. , and provid- 
ing for the erection and establishment of the same, and for other purposes. 

* * % 

Sec. 8. That the President be, and he is herebj^, authorized and 
required to appoint, immediately after the passage of this act, . 
one officer of the Corps of Engineers of the Army, one officer of the 
Corps of Topographical Engineers of the Army, . . . and . , . 
an officer of engineers of the Army, as secretaries, who shall consti- 
tute the Light-House Board of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 12. [The Light-House Board to arrange the Atlantic, Gulf, 
Pacific, and lake coasts into twelve districts]; and the President is 
hereby authorized and required to direct that an officer of the Army 
. may be assigned to each district as a light-house inspector, 
subject to and under orders of the Light-House Board, who shall receive 
for such service the same pa}^ and emoluments that he would be entitled 
to by law for the performance of duty in the regular line of his pro- 
fession, and no other, except the legal allowance per mile when trav- 
elling under orders connected with his duties. 

=k * -x- 

August 31, 1852 {10-112). — Plan for the erection of a light-house on the outer 
Minot Ledge, Boston Harbor, to be approved l)y the Topographical Bureau; a first- 
class liglit-house near Coffins Patches, off Dry Bank, Fla., to be constructed under 
the direction of the Topographical Bureau; two range beacon lights for Gedneys 
Channel, New Jersey, and two on Staten Ishmd, New York Harbor, to be constructed 
under the direction of the Topographical Bureau; plans, drawings, etc., of all illumi- 
nating and other apparatus of construction and repair of towers, buildings, etc., 
connected with tiie Light-House Establishment, to be prepared b}^ the engineer sec- 
retary of the board, or such officer of engineers as may be detailed for that service; 
no additional salary allowed to any military officer employed on the Light-House 
Board. 



50G LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Act of March 3, 1853 {10 Stats., ^U). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending 
thirtieth of June, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-four. 



Sec. 9. That whenever any lieutenant of the Corps of Engineers, 
Corps of Topographical Engineers, . . shall have served fourteen 
years' continuous service as lieutenant, he shall be promoted to the 
rank of captain: Provided, That the whole number of officers in 
either of the said corps shall not ho, increased beyond the number now 
fixed l)y law: And pi-o elded fartlter. That no officer shall be pro- 
moted before those who rank him in his corps. 

Sec. 10. That the Secretary of War be, and he is hereby, author- 
ized, under the direction of the President of the United States, to 
emplo}^ such portion of the corps of topographical engineers . 
to make such explorations and surve3's as he may deem advisable, to 
ascertain the most i^racticable and economical route for a railroad from 
the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. . . . 

Sec. 11. That the engineers . . . employed in said explorations 
and surveys shall be organized in as many district corps as there are 
routes to be surveyed, and their several reports shall be laid before 
Congress on or before the first Monday in February, eighteen hundred 
and fifty-four. 



March 3, 1S5S {10-240). — Places for two light-houses on the Saint Clair Flats, 
Michigan, to be selected and the work executed under the direction of the Topo- 
graphical Bureau. 

MarcJio, 1S57 {11-34S). — Secretary of War authorized to employ such officers of 
the Army as may be necessary for the exploration and verification of surveys already 
made of a ship canal near the Isthmus of Darien. 

Act of Alarcli o\ 1S59 {11 Stats., 4,35). 

AN ACT to provide for the care and preservation of the works constructed by the 
United States for bringing the Potomac waters into the cities of Washington and 
Georgetown, for the supj^ly of said water for all governmental purposes, and for the 
uses and benefits of the inhabitants of said cities. 

That the dams, aqueducts, water gates, reservoirs, and all fixtures 
and improvements connected therewith . . . shall be placed by 
the President of the United States under the immediate care, manage- 
ment, and superintendence of a properly (lualified officer of the United 
States Corps of Engineers to be appointed ])y him, who shall act 
under the Department of the Interior; . . . and such officer as a 
compensation for the duties and responsibilities imposed upon him by 
this act, shall receive, for his pay as said engineer, no more than his 
regular pay as an officer of the corps. He shall occupy the necessary 
apartments in one of the public buildings in the city of Washington as 
may be directed b}" the President, and shall be supplied by the Gov- 
ernment with the stationery, instruments, books, and furniture 
required in the performance of his public duties. . . . 



THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS. 507 

Act of June 23, 1860 {12 Stats., 91). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial expenses 
of Crovernnient for the year ending the thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and 
sixty-one. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. That all purchases and contracts for supplies or services in 
any of the departments of the Government, except for personal serv- 
ices, when the pul)lic exigencies do not require the immediate delivery 
of articles, or performance of the service, shall be made b}^ advertising-, 
a sufficient time previously, for proposals respecting the same. When 
immediate delivery or performance is required l)y the public exigency, 
the articles or service required may be procured by open purchase or 
contract at the places and in the manner in which such articles arc 
usually bought and sold, or such services engaged between individuals. 
No contract or purchase shall hereafter be made unless the same be 
authorized by law, or be under an appropriation adequate to its fulfill- 
ment, except in the War and Navy Departments, for clothing, subsist- 
ence, forage, fuel, quarters, or transportation, which, however, shall 
not exceed the necessities of the current year. No arms, nor military 
supplies whatever, which are of a patented invention, shall be pur- 
chased, nor the right of using or applying any patented invention, 
unless the same shall be authorized by law, and the appropriation 
therefor explicitly set forth that it is for such patented invention. 



Act of June "25, 1860 {12 Stats., lOli). 

AN ACT making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the 
year ending the thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and sixty-one. 



For the completion of the Washington Aqueduct . . . accord- 
i'Ug to the plans and estimates of Captain Meigs, and under his super- 
intendence: Pi'ovlded, That the office of engineer of the Potomac 
waterworks is hereby abolished, and its duties shall hereafter ])e dis- 
charged by the chief engineer of the Washington Aqueduct. 



Act of Februanj 21, 1861 {12 Stats., 11^7). 

AN A( 'T making a]>])ropriations for the naval service for the year ending the thirtieth 
of June, eighteen hundred and sixty-two. 



Sec. 5. That the third section of the act entitled "An act making 
ap[)ropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial expenses of 
the (lovcrnment for the year ending the thirtieth of June, eighteen 
hundred and sixt3'-one," approved June twenty-three, eighteen hun- 
dred and sixt}', be, and the same is hereby, repealed, except so far as 
the said section prohil)its the purchase of patented firearms, as to 
which the said section shall still be in force. 



508 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Act of March ?., 186 1 {1'2 Stats., 21Jt). 

AN ACT making apijropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for 
the year ending June thirty, eighteen hundred and sixty-two. 



Sec. 10. That all purchases and contracts for supplies or services, 
in any of the Departments of the Government, except for personal 
services, when the public exigencies do not require the immediate 
delivery of the article or articles, or performance of the service, shall 
be made by advertising a sufficient time previously for proposals 
respecting the same. When immediate delivery or performance is 
required by the public exigency, the articles or service required may 
be procured by open purchase or contract at the places and in the 
manner in which such articles arc usually bought and sold, or such 
services engaged between individuals. No contract or purchase shall 
hereafter be made, unless the same be authorized hj law or be 
under an appropriation adequate to its fullillment, except in the War 
Departments, for clothing, subsistence, forage, fuel, quarters, 
or transportation, which, however, shall not exceed the necessities of 
the current year. And the third section of the act entitled "An act 
making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial 
expenses of the Government for the year ending the thirtieth [twenty- 
third] of June, eighteen hundred and sixty-one," shall be, and the 
same is hereby, repealed. 

Act of August 3, 1861 {12 Stats., 287). 
AN ACT providing for the l)etter organization of the mihtary establishment. 



Sec. 8. That there shall be added to each of the Corps of P^ngineers 
and Topographical Engineers three first and three second lieutenants, 
to be promoted thereto in accordance with the existing laws and 
regulations. 

Sec. tt. That there shall be added to the Corps of Engineers three 
companies of engineer soldiers, to be commanded b}' appropriate offi- 
cers of said corps, to have the same pay and rations, clothing, and 
other allowances, and be entitled to the same benefits, in every respect, 
as the company created by the act for the organization of a company 
of sappers and miners and pontoniers, approved May sixteen [fifteenth], 
eighteen hundred and forty-six. The said three companies shall be 
subject to the Rules and Articles of War; shall l)e recruited in the 
same manner and with the same limitation, shall be instructed in and 
perform the same duties, and be liable to serve in the same way, and 
shall have their vehicles, pontons, tools, implements, arms, and other 
supplies regulated in the same manner as the existing engineer com- 
pany; and each of the four companies of engineer soldiers shall here- 
after be composed of ten sergeants, ten corporals, two musicians, 
sixty-four privates of the first class, or artificers, and sixty-four pri- 
vates of the second class; in all, one hundred and fifty men each. 



THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS. 509 

Act of August 6', 1S61 {12 Stats., 317). 

AN ACT to promote tlie efficiency of tlie Engineer and Topographical Engineer 
Corps, and for otfier purposes. 

That there shall 1)e added to each of the Corps of Engineers and 
Topographical Engineers, by regular promotion of their present offi- 
cers, two lieutenant-colonels and four majors. 

Sec. 2. That there shall be added to the Corps of Topographical 
Engineers one company of soldiers, to be commanded by appropriate 
officers of said corps, to have the same pay and rations, clothing, and 
other allowances, and to be entitled to the same benefits in every 
respect as the company created by the act for the organization of a 
company of sappers and miners and pontoniers, approved May six- 
teenth [fifteenth], eighteen hundred and forty-six. The said company 
shall be subject to the Rules and Articles of War, and shall have the 
same organization as the companies of engineer soldiers attached to 
the Corps of Engineers. 

* * -)5- 

Junes, 1862 {12-411). — Secretary of War to furnish officers appointed by him to 
make contracts, with a printed letter of instructions and blank forms of contracts, 
affidavits of returns, etc., to secure uniformity in such instruments. 

June 18, 1862 {12-620). — Supervision of the Potomac waterworks transferred from 
the War Department to the Department of the Interior. 

Act of March 3, 1863 {12 Stats., 710). 

AN ACT to promote the efficiency of the Corps of Engineers and of the Ordnance 
Department, and for other purposes. 

That the Corps of Topographical Engineers, as a distinct branch of 
the Army, is hereby abolished, and from and after the passage of this 
act is merged into the Corps of Engineers, which shall have the follow- 
ing organization, viz: One Chief Engineer, with the rank, pay, and 
emoliunents of a brigadier-general; four colonels; ten lieutenant- 
c'olonels; twenty majors; thirty captains; thirty first lieutenants, and 
ten second lieutenants. 

Sec. 2. That the general officer provided by the first section of this 
act shall be selected from the Corps of Engineers as therein established, 
and that officers of all lower grades shall take rank according to their 
respective dates of conmiission in the existing Corps of Engineers or 
Corps of Topof-raphical Engineers. 

Sec. 3. That no officer of the Corps of Engineers below the rank of 
a field officer shall hereafter be promoted to a higher grade before 
having passed a satisfactory examination before a board of three engi- 
neers senior to him in rank; and should the officer fail at said exami- 
nation he shall l)e suspended from promotion for one year, when he 
shall be reexamined, and, upon a second failure, shall be dropped 
by the l*resident from the Army. 

* * * 

Sec. 12. That the increase of rank of officers, and in the number of 
officers provided for in this act, shall continue only during the exist- 
ence of the present rebellion; and thereafter the several officers pro- 
moted under this act shall have the respective rank they would have 



510 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

had if this act had not passed, and the number shall l)c reduced by 
the President to the number authorized by law prior to the passage of 
this act. 

May 5, 1864 {13-68). — Commissioner of public huildino's to pay to the corpora- 
tion of Washington City the just proportion of the cost of inijiroving streetn, ave- 
nues, or alleys pas^sing through or by any of the property of the United States. 

Act of July 13, 1S66 {II,. Stats., 00). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending 
thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, and for other purposes. 



Sec. 6. That the Superintendent of the United States Military 
Academy may hereafter be selected, and the officers on duty at that 




JnJy 28, 1866 (14-310). — Contract for care of transient paupers, medical and surgi- 
cal patients, to be made by the commissioner of public buildings. 

Act of July 2S, 1866 {IJf Stats., 332). 

AN ACT to int;rease and fix the military peace establishment of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 19. That the Corps of Engineers shall consist of one chief of 
engineers, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of a brigadier-general; 
six colonels, twelve lieutenant-colonels, twenty-four majors, thirty 
captains, and twenty-six first and ten second lieutenants, who shall 
have the pay and emoluments now provided by law for officers of the 
Engineer Corps. 

Sec. 20. That the five companies of engineer soldiers and the 
sergeant-major and quartermaster-sergeant heretofore prescribed by 
law shall constitute a battalion of engineers, to be officered b}' officers 
of suitable rank detailed from the Corps of Engineers; and the officers 
of engineers, acting respectively as adjutant and quartermaster of this 
battalion, shall be entitled to the pay and emoluments of adjutants 
and quartermasters of ca\'alr3'. 

* * * 

Sec. 23. That the . . . Chief of Engineers . . . shall 
hereafter be appointed })y selection from the corps to which they 
belong. . 



Act (jfFehrtiary 12, 1867 [U Stats., 393). 
AN ACT to fix the pay of the quartermaster-sergeant of the Battalion of Engineers. 

That from and after the passage of this act the pay and allowances 
of the quartermaster-sergeant of the Battalion of Engineers of the 
Army of the United States shall be the same as those allowed by law 
to the sergeant-major of the battalion. 



THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS. 511 

Act of March 2, 18G7 {U Stafs.,4J57). 

AN ACT making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for 
the year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and sixty-eight, and for other 
purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 2. That the office of commissioner of public buildings is hereby 
abolished, and the Chief Engineer of the Arui}^ shall perform all the 
duties now required by law of said commissioner/ and shall also have 
the superintendence of the Washington Aqueduct and all the public 
works and improvements of the Government of the United States in 
the District of Columbia, unless otherwise provided by law. . . 

* * * 

March S, 1867 {14-4S7). — Section 3 authorizes a board of six officers (three from the 
Army) to determine by practical tests what increased strength or variation of form 
is necessary to enable our best stone forts to resist the heaviest guns. 

March 2, 1867 [14-571). — Forbids payment of accounts, claims, etc., against the 
Government which accrued prior to April 13, 1860, in favor of disloyal persons; this 
not to apply to claims assigned to loyal creditors of such joersons in payment of debts 
incurred prior to March 1, 1861. 

July 7, 1868 {15-256). — A competent and impartial engineer officer, with two naval 
officers, to carefully examine Boston Harbor relative to the erection of a bridge over 
the water between mainland in Boston and East Boston. 

Juhj 25, 1868 {13-171). — Chief Engineer of the Army to reimburse to the corpora- 
tion of the city of Washington for expenses incurred in improving the property of 
the General Government in said city; approi:)riations hereafter made for this purpose 
to be expended under his direction. 

Act of March 3, 1869 {15 Stats., 315). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy, and for other purposes. 

* * -x- 

Sec. 6. That until otherwise directed by law there shall be no new 
appointments and no promotions ... in the Engineer Depart- 
ment. 

* * * 

July 11, 1870 {16-223). — Three engineer officers to be detailed to examine all bridges 
erected, or in process of erection, across the Ohio River and report if navigation is 
obstructed thereby. 

MarcJi 5, 1872 {17-36). — Chief of Engineers and engineer in charge of public Iniild- 
ings and grounds to be members of a board to examine condition of harbors and 
landings along entire water front of Washington and Georgetown. 

May 8, 1872 {17-(U). — Chief of Engineers and engineer in charge of public build- 
ings, etc., to be members of a board to report jilan for removing locomotive railroad 
track in front of the western entrance of the Caj)itol. 

May 15, 1872 {17-116). — This act establishes rates of i)ay of enlisted men of the 
corps from and after July 1, 1872. (See sec. 1280, R. S. ) 

Act of June 10, 1872 {17 Stats., 382). 

AN ACT to repeal so much of section six of an act entitled "An act making appro- 
priations for the support of the Army for the year ending June thirtieth, eighteen 
hundri'd and seventy, and for other jiurposes," approved March third, eighteen 
hundred and sixty-nine, as prohibits promotions in the Engineer Department of 
the Army. 

That so much of section six of an act entitled "An act making appro- 
priations for the support of the Arnn^ for the year ending June thir- 

^The act of March 2, 1867 (14-434), directed the commissioner of public buildings 
to furnish proper offices for the Department of Education. 



512 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENEEAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

tieth, eighteen hundred and seventy, and for other purposes," approved 
March third, eighteen hundred and sixty-nine, as prohibits promotions 
and new appointments in the P]ngineer Department be, and the same 
is hereby, repealed: Provided^ That nothing herein contained shall 
authorize promotion in said department above the grade of colonel. 

December 17, 1872 (-Z7--?55) .—Three experienced officers of engineers to be detailed 
to examine and report upon proposed construction of bridges across the Ohio River. 

February 1, 1873 {17-422). — Engineer soldiers placed upon same footing as regards 
extra-duty pay as other enlisted men. 

March 3, 1873 {17-485). — Certain electrical apparatus in the Capitol subject to con- 
trol and supervision of the Architect of the Capitol and the commissioner of public 
buildings and grounds. 

Marcli 3, 1873 {17-510). — Improvements and care of public grounds to be under the 
direction of the Chief of Engineers. 

March 3, 1873 {17-530). — Officer in charge of public buildings and grounds to have 
rank, pay, etc., of a colonel. 

March 3, 1873 {17-560). — One or more engineers to be detailed to inquire into and 
report upon practicability of bridging the channel between Lake Huron and Lake 
Erie. 

Act of June W, 187 U {18 ^t<iU., 116). 

AN ACT for the government of the District of Columbia, and for other purposes. 

* w -X- 

Sec. 3. That the President of the United States shall detail an officer 
of the Engineer Corps of the Army of the United States, who shall, 
subject to the general supervision and direction of the said Board of 
Commissioners, have the control and charge of the work of repair and 
improvement of all streets, avenues, alleys, sewers, roads, and bridges 
of the District of Columbia; and he is hereby vested with all the power 
and authority of, and shall perform the duties heretofore devolved 
upon, the chief engineer of the board of public works. 
* * * 

June 22, 1874 {18-197). — Board of Engineers to examine and report relative to 
construction of a bridge across the Mississij^pi River at or near La Crosse, Wis. 

Act of June ^2, 187 J^ (18 Stat^., 199). 

AN ACT to provide for the appointment of a commission of engineers to investigate 
and report a permanent plan for the reclamation of the alluvial basin of the Mis- 
sissippi River subject to inundation. 

That the President be, and he is hereby, authorized and directed to 
assign three officers of the Corps of Engineers, United States Army, 
. to serve as a board of commissioners; the president of said 
board to be designated by the President of the United States. It shall 
be the duty of said commission to make a full report to the President 
of the best system for the permanent reclamation and redemption of 
said alluvial basin from inundation, . . . 



Act of June 23, 1874, {1^ Stats., 237.) 

AN ACT making appropriations for the repair, preservation, and completion of cer- 
tain public works on rivers and harbors, and for other purposes. 

* -X- * 

Sec. 3. That a board of engineers, to be composed of three from the 
Army, . , . be appointed by the President; which said board 
shall make a survey of the mouth of the Mississippi River, with a view 



THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS. 513 

to determine the best method of obtaining and maintaining a depth of 
water sufficient for the purposes of commerce, either by a canal from 
said river to the waters of the Oulf, or l)y deepening one or more of 
the natural outlets of said river; and .said board shall make a full and 
detailed estimate and statement of the cost of each and said places, and 
shall report the same, together with their opinion thereon, showing 
which of all said plans they deem preferable, giving their reasons 
therefor, to the Secretary of War, to be presented at the commence- 
ment of the second session of the Forty-third Congress; . 

June 23, 1874 {18-337). — Three officers of engineers to be members of a commission 
to surve}^ mouth of the Mississippi River. 

March 3, 1875 {18-37-5). — One engineer officer to be detailed as member of a board 
to conduct experiments in testino; iron and steel. 

March 3, 1875 {18-456). — Board of engineers to be convened to examine and report 
upon improvement of the channel between Staten Island and New Jersey. 

Note. — Under the direction of the Secretary of War, Col. O. E. Babcock, of the 
Corps of p]ngineers, was, March 3, 1875, placed in charge of the construction of the 
State, War, and Navy building. He was relieved, March 3, 1877, by Col. Thomas 
Lincoln Casey, Corps of Engineers. 

Act of AucjuM. 2, 1876 {19 Stats., 123). 

AN ACT providing for the completion of the Washington Monument. 

. . . And the construction of said monument shall be under the 
direction and supervision of . . . the Chief of Engineers of the 
United States Arm}^ . . . which officers are hereby constituted 
a joint commission for the purpose . . . 

March 3, 1877 {19-344) ■ — Appropriates $25,000 to be expended under the direction 
of the Chief of Engineers in continuing the survey of the Mississippi River and its 
tril)utaries with a view of determining proper method of reclaiming from overflow 
the alluvial lands of the Mississippi delta. 

REVISED STATUTES— 2ND EDITION— 1878. 



Sec. 519. The Chief of Engineers shall furnish proper offices for 
the use of the Office of Education. 

* * * ' 

Sec. 1091. The Army of the United States shall consist of — 

* * * 

A Corps of Engineers. 

A battalion of engineer soldiers. 

* * * 

Sec. 1151. The Corps of Engineers shall consist of one Chief of 
Engineers, with the rank of brigadier-general; six colonels, twelve 
lieutenant-colonels, twenty-four majors, thirty captains, twenty-six 
tirst lieutenants, and ten second lieutenants, and the battalion: Pro- 
vided., That no promotion shall be made to fill any vacancy in said 
corps above the rank of colonel. 

Sec. 1152. The Chief of P^ngineers is authorized, with the approval 
of the Secretary of War. to" regulate and determine the number, 
quality, form, and dimensions of the necessary vehicles, pontoons, 
tools, implements, arms, and other supplies for the use of the battalion 
of engineer soldiers. 

Sec. 1153. It shall be the duty of the engineer superintending the 

S. Doc. 229 33 



514 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

construction of a fortitication or engaged about the execution of any 
other public work to disburse the moneys applicable to the same; but 
no compensation shall l)e allowed him for such disbursement. 

Sec. 1154. The battalion of engineers shall consist of the five com- 
panies of engineers now existing, one sergeant-major, and one quar- 
termaster-sergeant, who shall also be commissary-sergeant. 

Sec. 1155. Each company of engineer soldiers shall consist of ten 
sergeants, ten corporals, two musicians, and as many privates of the 
first class, not exceeding sixty-four, and as many privates of the second 
class, not exceeding sixty-four, as the President may direct, and shall 
be recruited in the same manner, and with the same limitation, and 
shall be entitled to the same provisions, allowances, and benefits, in 
every respect, as are allowed to other troops constituting the present 
military peace establishment. 

Sec. 1156. A battalion adjutant, a battalion quartermaster, and 
appropriate ofiicers to command the companies and l)attalion of engi- 
neer soldiers shall be detailed from the Corps of Engineers. 

Sec. 1157. The enlisted men of the engineer battalion shall perform 
the duties of sappers, miners, and pontoniers, and shall aid in giving 
practical instruction in those branches at the Military Academ3\ The}^ 
may be detailed by the Chief of Engineers to oversee and aid laborers 
upon fortifications and other works in charge of the Engineer Corps, 
and as fort keepers to protect and repair finished fortifications. 

Sec, 1158. Engineers shall not assume nor be ordered on an}^ duty 
beyond the line of their immediate profession, except by the special 
order of the President. They may, at the discretion of the President, 
be transferred from one corps to another, regard being paid to rank. 

-X- -Ar * 

Sec. 1198. The . . . Chief of Engineers . . . shall be 
appointed by selection from the corps to which they belong. 

■X- * * 

Sec. 1196. The Secretary of War may detail six ofiicers from the 
Corps of Engineers, and any number of nonconnnissioned ofiicers and 
privates not exceeding one hundred from the battalion of engineers, 
for the performance of signal duty; but no ofticer or enlisted man shall 
be so detailed until he shall have been examined and approved by a 
military board convened b,v the Secretary of War. 

* * * 

Sec. 1206. No ofiicer of the Corps of Engineers below the rank of 
field ofiicer shall be promoted to a higher grade until he shall have 
been examined and approved by a board of three engineers senior to 
him in rank. If an engineer officer fail on such examination, he shall 
be suspended from promotion for one .year, when he shall be reexam- 
ined before a like board. In case of failure on such reexamination, 
he shall be dismissed from the servicer 

Sec. 1207. When any lieutenant of the Corps of Engineers has 
served fourteen years' continuous service as lieutenant, he shall be 
promoted to the rank of captain, on passing the examination provided 
by the preceding section, but such promotion shall not authorize an 
appointment to till any vacancy when such appointment Avould increase 
the whole number of officers in the corps beyond the number fixed by 
law; nor shall any officer he promoted before officers of the same grade 
who rank him in his corps. 

* * * 



THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS. 5] 5 

Sec. 1241. The President may cause to be sold aii}^ military stores 
which, upon proper inspection or survey, appear to be damaged or 
unsuitable for the public service. Such inspection or survey shall be 
made l)y officers designated by the Secretary of War, and the sales 
shall be made under regulations prescribed by him. 

* * * 

Sec. 1280. The monthly pay of the following enlisted men of the 
Army shall, during their first term of enlistment, be as follows, with 
the contingent additions thereto hereinafter provided; 

* * * 

Sergeant-majors of engineers, thirty-six dollars. 
Quartermaster-sergeants of engineers, thirty-six dollars. 
Sergeants of engineers, . . . thirtj^-four dollars. 
Corporals of engineers, . . . twenty dollars. 
Musicians of engineers, . . . thirteen dollars. 
Privates (first class) of engineers, . . . seventeen dollars. 
Privates (second class) of engineers, . . . thirteen dollars. 

Sec. 1281. This section adds $1 per month for each of the third, fourth, and lifth 
year of first enlistment. 

Sec. 1282. Fixes the pay of men reenlisting at the rate of pay for third year of first 
term of service. 

* * * 

Sec. 1304. In case of deficiency of any article of military supplies or of damage to 
such supplies, the value of the deficient articles or that of the damage, to be charged 
against the officer responsible unless he can show that the deficiency or damage 
was not occasioned by any fault on his part. 

* * * 

Sec. 1797. The Chief of Engineers shall have charge of the public 
buildings and grounds in the District of Columbia, under such regu- 
lations as ma}^ be prescribed b}' the President through the War Depart- 
ment, except those buildings and grounds which are otherwise provided 
for by law. 

Sec. 1798. All estimates for public Iniildings and grounds in charge 
of the Chief of Engineers shall be approved and submitted by the 
Secretary of War, through the Treasury Department, as other esti- 
mates, to the two Houses of Congress; and all appropriations which 
have been or may be hereafter made for repairs or improvements of 
the pul)lic buildings and grounds in the District of Columbia and now 
in charge of the Chief of Engineers shall be expended luider the 
direction of the Secretary of War. 

Sec. 1799. The Chief of Engineers, in charge of pul)lic buildings 
and groiuids, is authorized to employ in his office and about the public 
buildings and grounds under his control such number of persons for 
such employments and at such rates of compensation as may be appro- 
priated for by Congress from year to j^ear. 

Sec. 1800. The Chief of Eng'ineers shall have the immediate superin- 
tendciu-e of the Washington A(|ueduct, together with all rights, appur- 
tenances, and fixtures connected with the same and belonging to the 
Tnited States, and of all other public works and improvements in the 
District of Columbia in which the Government has an interest and 
which are not otherwise specially provided for by law. 

Sec. ISUI. He shall obey, in the discharge of the duties mentioned 



516 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

in the preceding section, such regulations, pursuant to law, as ma}^ be 
prescribed by the President, through the Department of War, 

* * * 

Sec. 1803. Forbids tapping or opening mains or pipes laid by the Government in 
Washington City unless by consent of the Chief of Engineers. 

-X- * * 

Sec. 1807. The Chief of Engineers shall receive no compensation, 
other than his regular pay as an officer of the Corps of Engineers, for 
the services required of him under the provisions of this title. 

[Seat of government, including the public buildings.] 

Sec. 1808. He shall be furnished official apartments in one of the 
public buildings in the city of Washington, as may he directed by the 
President, and shall be supplied by the Government with the sta- 
tioner3% instruments, books, and furniture which may be required for 
the performance of his duties. 

Sec. 1809. He shall keep in his office a complete record of all the 
lands and other property connected with or belonging to the Wash- 
ington Aqueduct and other public works under his charge, together 
with accurate plans and surveys of the public grounds and reservations 
in the District of Columbia. 

Sec. 1810. Chief of Engineers to have full control over the Washington Aqueduct 
and the supply of water. 

Sec. 1811. Decisions of Chief of Engineers on all questions relative to supply of 
water subject to appeal to the Secretary of War only. 

Sec. 1812. That Chief of Engineers shall, as superintendent of pub- 
lic buildings and grounds and as superintendent of the Washington 
Aqueduct, annually submit the following repoi'ts to the Secretar}' of 
War in time to accompany the annual message of the President to 
Congress, namely: 

First. A report of his operations for the preceding year, with an 
account of the manner in which all appropriations for public buildings 
and grounds have been applied, including a statement of the number 
of public lots sold or remaining unsold each year, of the condition of 
the public buildings and grounds, and of the measures necessary to be 
taken for the care and preservation of all public property under his 
charge. 

Second. A report of the condition, progress, repairs, casualties, 
and expenditures of the Washington Aqueduct and other public 
works under his charge. 

* * * 

Sec. 1817. Certain electrical apparatus in the Capitol subject to control and super- 
vision of the Architect of the Capitol and the Chief of Engineers in charge of public 
buildings and grounds. 

* * * 

Sec. 1819. Laws and regulations for the preservation of i^eace in Washington City 
to extend to Capitol square when requested by the Chief of Engineers in charge of 
public buildings and grounds. 

* * «■ 

Sec. 3711. All purchases and contracts for supplies or services for 
the military . . . service shall be made by or under the direction 
of the chief officers of the Department of War. . . . And all 
agents or contractors for supplies or service as aforesaid shall render 



THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS. 517 

their accoiint.s for settlement to the accountant of the proper depart- 
ment for which such supplies or services are required, subject, 
nevertheless, to the inspection and revision of the officers of the 
Treasury. 

•X- * * 

Sec. 3480. Forbids payment of accounts, claims, etc., against the United States 
which accrued or existed prior to April 13, 1860, in favor of disloyal persons; this not 
to a[)i)ly to claims assigned to loyal creditors of such persons in payment of debts 
incurred prior to March 1, 1861. 

* * * 

Sec. 3732. No contract or purchase on behalf of the United States 
shall be made unless the same is authorized by law or is under an 
appropriation adequate to its fulfillment. . . 

•X- * * 

Sec. 3747. Secretary of War to furnish officers appointed by him to make contracts 
with a printed letter of instructions and blank forms of contracts, affidavits of returns, 
etc., to secure uniformity in such instruments. 

* * * 

Sec. 4f)53, The President shall appoint . . . two officers of the 
Corps of Eng-ineers of the Army, . . . together with . . . 
and an officer of Engineers of the Army, as secretaries, who shall 
constitute the Light-House Board. 

* * * 

Sec. 4663. Whenever preliminary surve3\s are required to ascertain 
the necessity for any light-house, light-ship, beacon, or other warning 
to vessels, . . . the Secretary of the Treasury may cause . . . 
those on the Northwestern Lakes to be made under the direction of the 
Corps of Engineers. 

Sec. 4664:. The President shall cause to be detailed from the 
Engineer Corps of the Army from time to time such officers as may 
be necessary to superintend the construction and renovation of light- 
houses. 

Sec. 4665. The Light-House Board shall cause to be prepared by 
the engineer secretary of the board, or by such officers of Engineers 
of the Army as may be detailed for that service, all plans, drawings, 
specifications, and estimates of cost of all illuminating and other appa- 
ratus, and of construction and repair of towers, buildings, etc., con- 
nected with the Light-House Establishment. . . . 

* * * 

Sec. 4671. An officer of the Army . . . shall be assigned to 
each district as a light-house inspector, sitbject to the orders of the 
Light-House Board, and shall receive for such service the same pay 
and emoluments that he would be entitled to ])y law for the perform- 
ance of duty in the regular line of his profession, and no other, except 
the legal allowance per mile when traveling under orders connected 
with his duties. 

* * * 

Sec. 4679. No additional salary allowed to any officer of the Army on account of 
his being employed on the IJght-House Board. 

Sec. 4680. Members of the Light-House Board or inspectors forbidden to be inter- 
ested, directly or indirectly, in any contract for labor, materials, or supplies for the 
Light-House Service. 



618 ^LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. 8. ARMY. 

Sec. 4684. The President . . . shall cause to be emploj^ed as 
many officers of the Army ... of the United States as will be 
compatible with the successful prosecution of the work of coast sur- 
vey; . . . the officers of the Army to be employed on the topo- 
graphical part of the work; and no officer of the Army . . . shall 
receive any extra pay out of any appropriations for surveys. 
* * * 

Sec. 4687. Officers of the Army . . . shall, as far as practi- 
cable, be employed in the work of surveying the coast of the United 
States whenever and in the manner required b}^ the Department hav- 
ing charge thereof. 

Sec. 4688. The Secretary of the Treasury may make such allowances 
to the officers and men of the Army . . . while employed on coast 
survey service, for subsistence, in addition to their compensation, as 
he may deem necessary, ... 

* * * 

Sec. 5253. The Chief of Engineers may, with the approval of the 
Secretar}^ of War, employ such civil engineers, not exceeding live in 
number, for the purpose of executing the surve3\s and improvements 
of Western and Northwestern rivers ordered by Congress, as may be 
necessary to the proper and diligent prosecution of the same; and the 
persons so emplo3'ed may be allowed a reasonable compensation for 
their services, not to exceed the sum of three thousand dollars a year. 



STATUTES AT LARGE. 

June 11, 1878 {20-102). — An engineer officer to be detailed, from time to time, as 
one of the Commissioners of the District of Cohimbia. 

Eewlution of June 20, 1879 {21 Stats., SI). 

JOINT RESOLUTION relating to a bridge across the Detroit River at or near Detroit, 

Michigan. 

Whereas recent progress in the art has shown the practicability of 
constructing bridges having spans of five hundred feet or possibly 
more: Therefore, 

Resolved hy the Seriate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of War 
is hereb}'^ authorized and required to convene a board of officers of the 
Corps of Engineers of the Army, whose duty it shall be to inquire into 
and report whether, for railroad purposes, the river Detroit can be 
bridged or tunneled at the city of Detroit, or within one mile above 
or below said city, in such manner as to accommodate the large trade 
and commerce crossing the river at that point and without material 
or undue injury to the navigation of said river a good and sufficient 
tug being always kept by the bridge owners to assist any craft when 
required. 

Act of June 29, 1879 {21 Stats., 37). 

AN ACT to provide for the appointment of a "Mississippi River Commission" for 
the improvement of said river from the Head of the Passes near its mouth to its 
head waters. 

That a commission is hereb}'^ created, to be called ''The Mississippi 
River Commission,^' to consist of seven membei's. 

Sec. 2. The President of the United States shall, by and with the 



THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS. 519 

advice and consent of tlie Senate, appoint seven commissioners, three 
of whom shall be selected from the Eno-ineer Corps of the Army, 
. . And any vacancy which may occur in the commission shall 
in like manner be tilled by the President of the United vStates; and he 
shall desig'nate one of the commissioners appointed from the Engineer 
Corps of the Army to be president of the commission. The commis- 
sioners appointed from the Engineer Corps of the Army . 
shall rec(>ive no other pay or compensation than is now allowed them 
by law, . . . and the commissioners appointed under this act 
shall remain in office subject to removal by the President of the United 
States. 

Sec. 3. . . . The Secretarj- of War shall, when requested by 
said commission, detail from the Engineer Corps of the Arm}^ such 
officers and men as may be necessary, . 

■X- * * 

Sec. 6. The Secretary of War may detail from the Engineer Corps 

of the Army of the United States an officer to act as secretar}^ of said 

commisssion. 

* * * 

Act of June SO, 1879 {21 Stats., 1^5). 

AN ACT providing for tilling vacancies in the otfice of Chief of Engineers, United 

States Army. 

That so much of the act of June tenth, eighteen hundred and 
seventy-two, chapter four hundred and twenty -six, volume seventeen, 
page three hundred and eighty-two, Statutes at Large, as prohibits 
promotion in the Corps of Engineers above the rank of colonel, and 
all other acts prohibiting said prouiotion, be, and the same are hereby, 
repealed. 

June, 14, 1S80 {71-lSO). — A lioard of engineers to be convened to determine npon 
a i)lan for constructing an ice harbor at St. Louis; an officer of engineers to prepare 
a plan for the improvement of the harbor at Kewaunee, Wis. 

March 3, 1881 {21-468). — One engineer officer to be detailed as member of a board 
to examine all inventions of heavy ordnance, and improvements of heavy ordnance, 
and projectiles that may be presented to them. 

July 1, 1882 {22-135). — Operations of the water department of the District of Co- 
lumbia to be under direction of the Engineer Commissioner. 

August 2, 1882 {22-191) . — A board of officers of engineers to examine the Calumet 
River, 111., with a view to its improvement; skillful engineers to survej' the Illinois 
and Michigan Canal for purpose of enlarging the same; no surveys to be made of 
rivers and liarbors until the Chief of Engineers has reported that the work of im- 
provement is a public necessity. 

Act of March S, 1883 {22 Stats., 531). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial expenses 
of the Government for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred 
and eighty-four, and for other purposes. 

-X- * * 

STATE, WAR, AND NAVY DEPARTMENT BUILDING. 

The President is hereby authorized and directed to designate from 
the P^ngineer Corps of the Army or the Navy an officer well qualitied for 
the purpose, who shall be detailed to act as superintendent of the 
completed portions of the State, War. and Navy Department building, 
under the direction of the Secretaries of State, War, and Navy, . . . 



520 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 
Act of July 5, 188 J^ {23 Stats. ^ 133). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the construction, repair, and preservation of 
certain public works on rivers and harbors, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

That a commission to be called the Missouri River Commission is 
hereby created, to consist of live members. 

That the President shall nominate and, by and with the advice and 
consent of the Senate, appoint five commissioners, three of whom shall 
be selected from the Corps of Engineers of the Army . . . ; and 
he shall in like manner fill any vacancy in said commission; and he 
shall designate one of the commissioners appointed from the Corps of 
Engineers to be president of the commission. The commissioners 
appointed from the Corps of Engineers shall receive no other pay or 
compensation than is allowed them by law . . . ; and all said com- 
missioners shall remain in ofiice subject to removal l)v the President 
of the United States. 

That . . . the Secretary of War is hereby authorized and 
directed ... to detail from the Corps of Engineers such oflicers 
and men a-i ma}^ be necessar}^ 

That . . . the Secretar}^ of War may detail from the Corps of 
Engineers ... an oflicer to act as secretary of the commission, 



Act of March 3,1885 {23 Stats., ^3J^). 

AN ACT making appropriations for fortifications and other works of defence, and for 
the armament thereof, for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred 
and eighty-six, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

And the President of the United States shall appoint a board, of 
which the Secretary of War shall be a member and president, to be 
composed of two officers of the Engineer Corps, . . . which board 
shall examine and report at what ports fortifications or other defences 
are most urgently required, the character and kind of defences best 
adapted for each, with reference to armament, the utilization of tor- 
pedoes, mines, or other defensive appliances, . 

For the purchase of movable submarine torpedoes propelled and 
controlled by power operated and transmitted from shore stations as 
may be recommended by the Board of Engineers of the Arm}^ of the 
United States and approved by the Secretary of War, . . . 

* -x- * 

July ^0, 1886 {^4-147) . — One or more engineer officers to supervise construction of 
a bridge across the west channel of the Detroit River at Detroit. 

Act of August 5, 1886 {24, Stats., 310). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the construction, repair, and preservation of 
certain public works on rivers and harbors, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

The Secretary of War is authorized and directed to appoint a board 
of three engineers from the United States Army, whose duty it shall 
be to examine, in all their relations to commerce, the Sturgeon Bay 



THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS. 521 

and Lake Michigan Ship Canal, connecting- the waters of Green Bay 
with Lake Michigan, in the State of Wisconsin, with a view to making 
the same a free passagewa^^ and harbor of refuge, to consider their 
value, and all other matters connected with their usefulness to naviga- 
tion, and which shall give information as to the expediency of the 
work and the desirability of their acquisition and improvement. The 
said board shall report to the Secretary of War, who shall lay its report 
before Congress at its next session, together with the views of himself 
and the Chief of Engineers of the United States Army thereon; . . . 
* * * 

The Secretary of War is hereby authorized and directed to ascertain 
the value and commercial importance of the works and property of the 
Green and Barren River Navigation Company, situated in the Green 
and Barren rivers, in the State of Kentucky, and of the Monongahela 
Navigation Company, situated on the Monongahela River, in the State 
of Pennsylvania; and in order to acquire such information the Secre- 
tary of War shall appoint a board of three competent engineers from 
the Engineer Corps of the United States Army, which board shall in 
each case report to the Secretary of War . 

■;5- * * 

The Secretary of War is authorized and directed to appoint a board 
of three engineers from the United States Army, whose duty it shall 
be to examine, in all their relations to commerce, the two improved 
waterways known as the Portage Lake and River Improvement Com- 
pany Canal and the Lake Superior Ship Canal Railway and Iron 
Company Canal, l)eing the improved harbors of refuge and the water 
connnunication across Keweenaw Point from Keweenaw Bay to Lake 
Superior, by w^ay of Portage River and Lake, in the State of Michi- 
gan, with a view to making the same a free passageway and harbor of 
refuge, to consider their value, and all other matters connected with 
their usefulness to navigation, and which shall give information as to 
the expediency of the work and the desirabilit}" of their acquisition 
and improvement. The said board shall report to the Secretary of 
War, who shall lav its report liefore Congress at its next session, 
together with the views of himself and the Chief of Engineers of the 
United States Army thereon; . . . ' 

* * * 

The Secretary of War is authorized and directed to appoint a board 
of three engineers from the United States Army, whose duty it shall 
be to examine, in all their relations to commerce, the Illinois and 
Michigan Canal and the proposed Hennepin Canal, to consider their 
v^alue, and all other matters connected with their usefulness to naviga- 
tion, and shall report upon the acquisition and improvement of the 
Illinois and Michigan Canal and the construction of the Hennepin 
Canal. The said board shall report to the Secretary of War, who shall 
lay its report before Congress at its next session, together with the 
views of himself and the Chief of Engineers of the United States 
Army thereon; 

* * * 

Sec. 7. . . . Provided^ That no survey shall be made of any 
harbors or rivers until the Chief of Engineers shall have directed a 
preliminary examination of the same by the local engineer in charge 
of the district, or an engineer detailed for the purpose; and such local 



522 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

or detailed engineer shall report to said Chief of Engineers whether, 
in his opinion, said harbor or river is worthy of improvement, and 
shall state in such report fully and particularly the facts and reasons 
on which he bases such opinion, including the present and prospective 
demands of commerce; and it shall l)e the duty of the Chief of Engi 
neers to direct the making of such survey if in his opinion, the harbor 
or river proposed to be surveyed be worthy of improvement by the 
General Government; and he shall report to the Secretary of War 
the facts and what public necessity or convenience may be subserved 
thereby, together with the full reports of the local engineer. . . . 
* * * 

March 3, 1887 {^4-472). — Board of engineer officers to examine map and drawings 
for bridge across the Great Kanawha River in West Virginia. 

Resolution of March 5, 1888 {^5 Stats., 618). 

JOINT RESOLUTION anthorizijig the Secretary of War to appoint a board of three 
engineers to examine and report in relation to the Delaware River between the 
city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Camden, New Jersey, and for other pur- 
poses. 

That the Secretary of War be, and he is hereby, authorized to 
immediately appoint a board of three engineers from the United States 
Arm}^ whose duty is shall be to examine, in all their relations to com- 
merce, the islands known as Smiths Island, Windmill Island, and 
Pettys Island, in the Delaware River, between the city of Philadelphia, 
in the State of Penrsylvania, and the city of Camden, in the State of 
New Jersey, which board shall forthwith report to the Secretary of 
War as to whether said islands, or any shoal in the said river between 
or adjacent to the said islands or any of them, constitute an obstruction 
to the commerce of the Delaware River or to the passage of vessels 
between the said States, and with a view to removing said islands 
and shoals to report a plan, with the estimate of cost for their removal, 
in whole or in part, and for the improvement of the harbor of the port 
of Philadelphia, including the probable cost to the Government of said 
islands, so as to secure free and uninterrupted commerce upon the said 
Delaware River, and the unobstructed passage of vessels to and from 
and between the said States; ... 

May 24, 1888 {S.5-155). — This resolution authorizes the detail of an officer of the 
Engineer Corps, in cooperation with the ilaumee Valley Monumental Association, 
to examine and inspect the enumerated historic grounds, location, and military 
works. Survey and full report to be made to Congress. 

June 19, 1888 (£5-195). — Three engineer officers to examine location of proposed 
bridge across the Mississippi River at Hickman, Ky. 

August 11, 1888 (25-400). — Board of three engineers to examine plans for improve- 
ment of Winyard Bay, South Carolina, and harbor of St. Augustine, Fla., and har- 
bor at Key West, Fla. . and to examine obstructions to navigation at certain points 
in the Columbia River; Chief of P^ngineers to direct preliminary surveys of rivers and 
harbors if deemed by hii worthy of improvement. 

Act of September 22, 1888 {26 Stats., JtS7). 

AN ACT making appropriations for fortifications and other works of defense, for the 
armament thereof, for the procurement of heavy ordnance for trial and service, 
and for other purposes. 

That the appropriations hereinafter provided for shall be available 
until expended, and shall be expended under the direct supervision of 



TSE CORPS OF ENGINEERS. 523 

a board to consist of . . , an officer of engineers, ... to 
be selected by the Secretary of War, to be called and known as the 
Board of Ordnance and Fortilication ; , . . 



Act of October ^, 1888 {25 Stats., 505). 

AN ACT making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the 
fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-nine, and for other 
purposes. 



BUILDING FOR THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



This appropriation and all appropriations hereafter made, and all 
Slims available from appropriations heretofore made for this purpose, 
shall be expended under the direction and supervision of the Chief of 
Engineers of the Army, who shall have the control and management 
of all of said work and the employment of all persons connected there- 
with. And all contracts for the construction of said building, or any 
part thereof, shall be made by the Chief of Engineers of the Army; 
. and the duties of said commission under said act are hereb}'^ 
devolved upon the Chief of Engineers of the Army, who shall annually 
report to Congress, at the commencement of each session, a detailed 
statement of all the proceedings under the provisions of this act, 
: Provided., That before any further contracts are let for the 
construction of said building, geneial plans for the entire construction 
thereof shall be prepared by or under the direction of the Chief of 
Engineers of the Army, which plans shall be subject to the inspection 
and approval of the Secretary of War and the Secretary of the 
Interior: . 

* * * 

October 19, 1888 {25-632). — Authorizes the Secretary of War to use so much of 
unexpended balance of appropriation for the Washington Aqueduct tunnel in District 
of Columbia as may be necessary to protect and preserve the work already done upon 
that tunnel. 

Febniary 23, 1899 (25-690). — One or more engineer officers to survey a national 
road from the Aqueduct Bridge to Mount Vernon. 

Act ofJfarch 2, 1889 {25 Stats., 905). 

AN ACT making appropriations to supply deficiencies in the appropriations for the 
fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-nhie, and for prior 
years, and for other purposes. 



Water supply., District of Columbia. — To enable the Secretary of 
War to cause to be constructed and put in operation a forty-eight-inch 
cast-iron main from the present distributing reservoir above George- 
town, ... to connect with the present forty-eight-inch main 
from the new reservoir at R and Fourth streets . . . The said 
work shall be done under the direction of the Chief of Engineers, in 
the shortest practicable time. . . . 



524 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

uipril 19, 1890 {26-671). — Board of engineers to report on practicability and cost 
of tunneling the Detroit River near Detroit, Mich. 

July 11, 1890 {26-268). — Board of engineers to take testimony relative to clear 
height of North River Bridge, New York, above ordinary high water. 

AuguM 18, 1890 {20-315). — An officer of engineers, not below rank of lieutenant- 
colonel, to be a member of a board to inquire into the facilities for producing steel 
forgings for high-power guns at or near the Pacific coast, in the vicinity of the Rock 
Island Arsenal, the Indianapolis Arsenal, and at some point on or near the (lulf 
coast; also as to the advisability of erecting at those points gun factories for finishing 
and assembling high-power guns. 

Resolution of Aur/usf 28, 1890 (26 Stats.. 678). 

JOINT RESOLUTION extending the privilege of the Library of Congress to the 
members and secretary of the Interstate Commerce Commission and the Chief of 
Engineers of the Corps of Engineers, United States Army. 

That the Joint Committee of Congress on the Library be authorized 
to extend the use of the books in the Library of Congress to . , . 
the Chief of Engineers of the Corps of Engineers, United States Army, 
resident in Washington, on the same conditions and restrictions as mem- 
bers of Congress are allowed to use the Librar}'. 

September 19, 1890 {26-426). — Boards of three engineer officers to determine best 
location for a deep-water harbor between Points Duma and Capistrans, on the Pacific 
coast; to report on reduced project, etc., for harbor of refuge at Port Orford, Oreg. ; 
to survey most feasible location for a ship canal to connect Lakes Union, Washing- 
ton, and Samamish with Puget Sound ; to examine the obstructions to navigation in 
the Hudson River. 

Act of Septemher 27, 1890 {26 Stats., Jfd2). 

AN ACT authorizing the establishing of a public park in the District of Columbia. 

* * * 

Sec. 2. That the Chief of Engineers of the United States Arnw, the 
Engineer Commissioner of the District of Columbia, . . . be, and 
they are hereby, created a commission to select the land for said park, 
of the quantity and within the limits aforesaid, and to hav^e the same 
surveyed l)y the assistant to the said Engineer Commissioner of the 
District of Columbia in charge of public highways, which said assist- 
ant shall also act as executive officer of the said commission. 

* * * 

Sec. 7. That the public park authorized and established by this act 
shall be under the joint control of the . . . Chief of Engineers of 
the United States Army, . 

September 30, 1890 {26-554). — Board of three engineer officers to determine in a 
given contingency whether the use of the Louisville and Portland Canal basin by 
Messrs. Byrne and Speed is prejudicial to the canal or its use. 

Resolution of Decejnher 2Jf, 1890 (26 Stats., lllS). 

JOINT RESOLUTION defining a quorum of the Board of Commissioners of the 
District of Columbia, and for other purposes. 

. Hereafter such Engineer Commissioner may, in the discre- 
tion of the President of the United States, be detailed from among the 
captains or officers of higher grade having served at least fifteen years 
in the Corps of Engineers of the Army of the United States. 



THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS. 525 

Fehntari/ .9, 1S91 (26-740). — Safe deep harbor on the coast of Texas, to he inspected 
by Army engineers. 

July 13, 1892 [27-88). — Board of five engineer officers to carefnlly examine for a 
proposed deep-water harbor at San Pedro or Santa Monica hays, California; board of 
seven engineer officers to report on removal of obstructions to navigation in the 
Columbia River; Chief of Engineers to submit, with his views, reports of local and 
division engineers having made preliminary examinations of rivers and harbors 
authorized by this act. 

Ad of July ^7, 189'2 (27 Stats., 276). 

AN ACT amending the act of October first, eighteen hundred and ninety, entitled 
".\n act to provide for the examination of certain officers of the Army and to regu- 
late promotions therein." 

* * * 

Sec. 2. That the examination of officers of the Corps of Engineers 
who were officers or enlisted men in the regular or volunteer 
service, either in the Army, Navy, or the Marine Corps, during the 
war of the rebellion, shall be conducted by boards composed in the 
same manner as for the examination of other officers of their respective 
corps and department; and the examination shall embrace the same 
subj(^cts prescribed for all other officers of similar grades in the Corps 
of Engineers, . . . respectively. 

July 27, 1892 (27-281). — An engineer officer to be detailed to examine and report 
upon work for the improvement of the outer bar of Brunswick, Ga. (This provision 
is repeated in act of March 1, 1893 (27-529). 

August .5, 1892 (27-349). — Brig. Gen. T. L. Casey to continue in charge of building 
for the Library of Congress, whether on the active or the retired list of the Army. 

Act of March 1, 1S93 (27 Stats., 507). 

AN ACT to create the California Debris Commission and regulate hydraulic mining 

in the State of California. 

That a commission is hereb}^ created, to be known as the California 
Debris Commission, consisting of three members. The President of 
the United States shall, by and with the advice and consent of the Sen- 
ate, appoint the commission from officers of the Corps of Engineers, 
United States Army. Vacancies occurring therein shall be tilled in 
like manner. It shall have the authority and exercise the powers 
hereinafter set forth, under the supervision of the Chief of Engineers 
and direction of the Secretary of War. 

Sec. 2. That said commission shall organize within thirt}^ days after 
its appointment by the selection of such officers as may be required in 
the performance of its duties, the same to be selected from the mem- 
bers thereof. The members of said commission shall receive no 
greater compensation than is now allowed by law to each, respectively, 
as an officer of said Corps of Engineers. 

* * * 

March 1, 1893 (27-529). — An officer of Engineers to examine and report upon 
improvement of the outer bar of Brunswick, Georgia. 

March 2, 1893 (27-532). — Chief of Engineers to be a member of the commission 
created for supervision of permanent system of highways in District of Columbia, 
(iutsid(^ of cities. 

Sc/ttonlwr 7, 1893 (28-2). — Rei)airs to the old Ford's Theater to be made under 
direction of the Chief of Engineers. 



526 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Act of March 29, 189^ (28 Siats., 47). 

AN ACT to regulate the making of property returns by officers of the Government. 

That instead of forwarding to the accounting officers of the Treas- 
ury Department returns of public property intrusted to the possession 
of officers or agents, . . . the Chief of Engineers, . . . shall 
certify to the proper accounting officer of the Treasury Department, 
for debiting on the proper account, any charge against any officer or 
agent intrusted with the public property, arising from an}^ loss, accru- 
ing by his fault, to the Government as to the property so intrusted to 

him. 

* * * 

June 27, 1894 [28-586). — Commission of three engineer officers to report upon cost 
of deepening the harbors of Superior and Dukith. 

August 6, 1894 {28-233). — Purchases, not exceeding |20(J, may be made in open 
market. 

August 18, 1894 {28-338). — Two officers of engineers to be members of a board to 
certify correctness of accounts for improving outer bar of Brunswick, Ga. ; Chief of 
Engineers and one officer of his corps to be members of a board to determine the 
most feasible route for construction of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal; board 
of three engineer officers to survey canal routes from Lake Erie to the Ohio River 
and report to Congress at its next session. Resolution of December 24, 1894 (28-967) 
authorizes delay of report until the first session of the next Congress. 

March 2, 1895 {28-744)- — Improvement of the Dalecarlia receiving reservoir to be 
under Col. G. H. Elliott notwithstanding his retirement, and in the event of his 
death, under the direction of the Chief of Engineers. 

March 2, 1895 {28-910) . — Board of three engineer officers to examine bar of Yaquina 
Bay, Oregon; one officer of engineers tolDe member of a board to ascertain feasibility 
and cost of constructing and completing the Nicaraguan Canal; officer in charge of 
building for tlie Library of Congress to receive the pay and allowances of his grade 
on the active list; fireproof building for the Government printing office to be con- 
structed by the Chief of Engineers. 

June 3, 1896 {29-202) . — One officer of engineers to be member of a board to report 
on improvements by Brazos River Channel and Dock Company; boards of three 
engineer officers each to report on dike between Reedy Island and Liston's Point, 
Pa.; to submit plans for the improvement of the Sacrat^ento and Feather rivers, 
California. 

March 3, 1897 {29-685). — Board of three engineer officers to report on plan and loca- 
tion of a bridge over the Mississipjn River to the city of St. Louis, Mo. 

.Tune 4, 1897 {30-11). — Boards of three engineer officers each to survey and deter- 
mine routes and cost of deep waterways between the great lakes and the Atlantic 
tide waters; to examine improvements at Aransas Pass, Tex. Chief of Engineers 
to make the surveys, etc., for a memorial bridge from Washington City to Arlington. 

Febniarij 17, 1898 {30-735). — Board of three engineer officers to survey and 
report upon practicability of a navigable channel throughout southwest pass £)i the 
Mississippi River. 

April 11, 1898 {30-737). — Incases of emergency, temporary forts or fortifications 
may be constructed upon written consent of the owner of the land on which such 
work is to be placed. 

Act of April m, 1898 {SO Stats., 361). 

AN ACT to provide for temporarily increasing the military establishment of the 
LTnited States in time of war, and for other purposes. 

* * -x- 

Sec. 10. That the staff of the commander of an army corps shall 
consist of . . . one chief engineer, . . . who shall have 
. . . the rank of lieutenant-colonel. . . . The staff of the com- 
mander of a division shall consist of . . . one chief engineer, 
who shall have . . . the rank of major. 



THH COKPS OF ENGINKEKS. 527 

Act of April 26, 1898 {30 Stats.', 36 J^). 

AN ACT for the better or<;aiiization of the line of the Armv of the United States. 



Sec, 3. That upon a declaration of war by Congress, or a declaration 
ot'Congress that war exists, the enlisted strength of a company . 
may, in the discretion of the President, be increased to comprise not 

exceeding: 

* * * 

For each company of engineers: one first sergeant, ten sergeants, 
ten corporals, two musicians, sixty-four first-class privates, sixt3'^-three 
second-class privates; total enlisted, one hundred and fifty. . . . 

* * * 

May 11, 1898 {30-405). — Not to exceed three officers of engineers may hold volun- 
teer commissions at the same time in any one of the three regiments of engineers 
authorized; all officers to be appointed by the President and with the consent of the 
Senate. 

June 28, 1898 {30-519). — Chief of Engineers to be a member of the commission to 
examine plat of readjustment of highAvays in District of Columbia outside of cities. 

June 29, 1898 (30-522). — One officer of engineers to be member of board to deter- 
mine width of draw or pivot span in bridge across Niagara river; one or more engi- 
neer officers to be constituted a board to personally supervise construction of said 
bridge. 

Act of July -5, 1898 {30 Stats., 662). 
AN ACT relative to the Corps of Engineers of the Army. 

That the Corps of Engineers of the Army shall hereafter consist of 
one Chief of Engineers, with the rank of brigadier-general, seven 
colonels, fourteen lieutenant-colonels, twenty-eight majors, thirty -five 
captains, thirty first lieutenants, twelve second lieutenants, and the 
battalion of engineers: Provided, That the vacancies created by this 
act in all grades above second lieutenant shall be tilled b}^ the promotion 
by seniority of the otficers now in the Corps of Engineers: Aiid pro- 
vided further.^ That the number of oflicers in any grade above second 
lieutenant shall not be increased beyond the number heretofore estab- 
lished by law by the promotion of an}- officer to fill an original vacancy 
created by this act until such ofl[icer shall have served at least three 
years in the grade from which he is promoted, and the captains and 
lieutenants shall have satisfactorih" passed the examinations required 
b}' existing laws. 

Act of March 2, 1899 {30 Stats., 977). 

AN ACT for increasing the efficiency of the Army of the United States, and for other 

purposes. 

That from and after the date of approval of this act the Army of the 
United States shall consist of . . . a Corps of Engineers. . . . 
* * * 

Sec. 7. That the . . . Corps of Engineers . . . .shall con- 
sist of the ofiicers and enlisted men now provided by law: Prorided, 
That the battalion of engineers, and the oflicers serving therewith, 
shall constitute a part of the line of the Army. . . . 



528 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENEEAL STAFF OF U. S. AEMY. 

Sec. 13. . . . And ])i"omded also. That any officer now in the 
Army who was graduated at the head of his class at the United States 
Militar}^ Academ}- and who is not now in the Corps of Engineers, may 
be appointed to the Corps of Engineers with the same grade and date 
of commission that lie would have if he had lieen appointed to the 
Corps of Engineers on graduation; but said commission shall not 
entitle an officer to any back pay or allowance. 

* * * 

March 3, 1S99 (30-1074) ■ — Government Printing Office to be erected under super- 
vision of Chief of Engineers. Appropriation for the repair of the house in which 
Abraham Lincohi died, to be expended under the direction of the Chief of Engineers. 

March 3, 1899 [30-1131). — Boards of engineer officers to report upon respective 
routes fi'om Miami, Fla., to the sea; to report on channel through southwest pass of 
the Mississippi River; to investigate proposed improvement of Yaquina Bay, Oregon; 
to examine project of improvement of Delaware River from Trenton to its mouth; to 
reexamine channel through Sabine Lake; to examine the Arkansas River with a view 
to its improvement; to survey and estimate cost of improving the Illinois and Des 
Plaines rivers; engineers to make full investigation of the Isthmus of Panama; Chief 
of Engineers, in his annual reports, to state what deterioration has taken place in 
works of river and harbor improvement. 

March 3, LS99 [30-137-2). — Authorizes the commission, of which the officer in 
charge of public l)uildings and grounds shall be a member, to erect upon Mount Ver- 
non square, in Washington City, a building for the use of the Washington Public 
Library. 

February 9, 1900 [31- .) — Engineer member of deep waterways commission to 
receive difference between his army pay and the compensation of the other members 
of the commission. 

June 6, 1900 [31- ). — Appropriations by this act for emergencies in river and 
harbor works, etc., to be expended under the supervision of the Chief of Engineers; 
no allotment to be made unless recommended by him. 

Board of engineers, heretofore appointed to survey the upper Illinois and lower 
Des Plaines rivers, to report an estimate for channels 10, 12 and 14 feet deep through 
proposed route including connection at Lockport with the sanitary and ship canal; to 
report also the cost for the improvement of the lower Illinois River for channels of 
similar depths. 

An engineer officer to be member of a board to make plans and estimates for 
improvement of a harbor at the island of Guam. 

.huie 6, 1900 [31- ). — Chief of Engineers to have the employment of all persons 
connected with the plans for extending the Executive Mansion; to make an examina- 
tion of plans for park improvements in Washington City; road extensions and 
improvements, etc., in Yellowstone National Park to be made under a general plan 
approved V)y the Chief f>f Engineers. 

Improvement of the Mis-souri River from its mouth to Sioux City, Iowa, to be done 
according to plans, etc., of the Missouri River Commission, and approved by the 
Chief of Engineers. 

Act of February H, 1901 {31 Stats., — ). 

AN ACT to increase the efficiency of the permanent military establishment of the 

United States. 

That from and after the approval of this act the Army of the United 
States . . . shall consist of ... a Corps of Engineers, . . . 

* * * 

Sec. 11. That the enlisted force of the Corps of Engineers shall con- 
sist of one band and three battalions of engineers. The engineers 
band shall be organized as now provided by law for bands of infantry 
regiments. Each battalion of engineers shall consist of one sergeant- 
major, one quartermaster-sergeant, and four companies. Each com- 
pany of engineers shall consist of one first sergeant, one (piartermaster- 
sergeant, with the rank, pay, and allowances of sergeant, eight 



THE CORrS OF ENGINEERS. 529 

sergeants, ten corporals, two musicians, two cooks, thirt^^-eight first- 
class and thirty-eio-ht second-class privates: Provided,, That the Presi- 
dent may, in his discretion, increase the number of sergeants in any 
company of engineers to twelve, the number of corporals to eighteen, 
the number of first-class privates to sixty-four, and the number of 
second-class privates to sixty-four, ])ut the total number of enlisted 
men authorized for the whole Arm}^ shall not, at any time, be exceeded: 
And provided, That officers detailed from the Corps of Engineers to 
serve as battalion adjutants and battalion quartermasters and commis- 
saries shall, while so serving, receive the pay and allowances herein 
authorized for battalion staff officers of infantry regiments. 
* * * 

Sec. 22. That the Corps of Engineers shall consist of one Chief of 
Engineers with the rank of brigadier-general, seven colonels, four- 
teen lieutenant-colonels, twent3^-eight majors, forty captains, forty 
first lieutenants, and thirty second lieutenants. The enlisted force 
provided in section eleven of this act and the oflacers serving there- 
with shall constitute a part of the line of the Army: Provided, That 
the Chief of Engineers shall be selected as now provided by law, and 
hereafter vacancies in the Corps of Engineers in all other grades above 
that of second lieutenant shall be filled, as far as possible, b}^ promo- 
tion according to seniority from the Corps of Engineers: And pro- 
vided also. That vacancies remaining in the grades of first and second 
lieutenant may be filled by transfer of officers of the Regular Army, 
subject to such professional examination as may be approved by the 
Secretary of War. Vacancies in the grade of second lieutenant not 
filled by transfer shall be left for future promotions from the Corps 
of Cadets at the United States Military Academy. 

* * * 

Sec. 27. That each position vacated by officers of the line, trans- 
ferred to any department of the staff' for tours of service under this 
act, shall be filled by promotion in the line until the total number 
detailed equals the number authoi'ized for duty in each staff' depart- 
ment. Thereafter vacancies caused l)y details from the line to the 
staff' shall be filled ])y officers returning from tours of staff' duty. If 
under the operation of this act the number of officers returned to any 
particular arm of the service at any time exceeds the numl)er authorized 
by law in any grade, promotions to that grade shall cease until the 
number has been reduced to that authorized. 

S. Doc. 22'J 34 



X.-THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 



531 



THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 



May 27, 1TT5, Congress appointed a committee to consider ways and 
means to supply the colonies with ammunition :ind military stores, and 
the British Government having- prohibited the exportation of arms 
and annnunition to any of the plantations the Congress authorized the 
exportation of produce in all vessels importing munitions of war. 

While, July 16, 17T(), a Commissioner of Artillery Stores was 
appointed (April 11, 1777, styled Commissioner-General of Military 
Stores) the business of procuring arms and ammunition was conducted 
by a secret committee and the Board of War, 

The act of April 2, 17U1:, authorized the President to appoint an offi- 
cer whose duty, under the Department of War, was to superintend the 
receiving, safe-keeping, and distribution of military stores. 

The Ordnance Department was first established under the act of May 
14, 1812. It was not provided for in the reduction of the Army March 
3, 1815; but the act of April 21:, 1816, provided that it be continued as 
organized under the act of February 8, 1815. 

By the act of March 2, 1821, the Ordnance Department, as an independ- 
ent bureau, was abolished and merged in the artillery. The President 
was authorized to select such artillery officers as might be necessary to 
perform ordnance duties, and to each regiment of that arm one super 
numerary captain was attached for ordnance duty. The provision of 
that law making the artillery officers su))iect only to the orders of the 
War Department wdiile on ordnance duty was almost tantamount to 
preserving the independence of the bureau, and must be regarded as a 
manifestation by Congress of a want of confidence in the success of the 
scheme. The laAV was passed in the interests of econom3% simplicity of 
organization , and thoroughness of instruction. Mr. Secretary Calhoun, 
who strongly advocated the measure, said: 

By uniting the three corps of the ordnance, hght artillery, and artillery in one, 
appointing one general staff at the head of it, and )naking its officers pass in rotation 
through the three services, the organization of the Army will be rendered more 
simple and the instruction of the officers much more complete. 

Experience, however, proved that neither interest was at all sub- 
served. After eleven years' trial the experiment proved a failure, and 
was so acknowledged by the al>lest generals of the Army and the most 
distinguished public men of the country, including Mr. Calhoun himself. 
Accordingly the Department was reorganized on an independent footing 
by the act of April 5, 1832. 

Commissary of Art ill m/ St,ores. 

Aug. 17,1775. — ^Ir. Ezokiel Cheever. 

July 16, 177(>. — IVMijamin Flower, esq. (Pennsylvania), for the flying camp. 

Jan. 18,1777. — Mai. .Samuel French. 

533 



534 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Feb. 1, 1777. — Mr. St. George Peale, for Maryland. 

Feb. 1, 1777. — Maj. Jonathan Gostelow. 

Feb. 5, 1777.— Maj. Joseph Watkins. 

Mar. 8, 1777.— Maj. Charles Lukens. 

Sept. 17, 1782. — Richard Frothingham, for the main army. 

Inspector- General of Ordnance and Military Manufactories. 

Aug. 11,1777. — Mons. du Coudray (France). 

Commissary -General of Alilitwy Stores. 

July 16,1776. — Benjamin Flower, esq. (Pennsylvania). 
July 12,1781. — Samuel Hodgdon (Pennsylvania). 

Commissary- General of Ordnance. 

July 2,1812. — Col. Decius Wadsworth (Connecticut). 

Chief of Ordnance. 

Feb. 9, 1815.— Lieut. Col. (Col. Mav 30, 1832) George Bomford (New York). 

Mar. 25, 1848.— Col. (Bvt. Brig. Gen. May 30, 1848) George Talcott (New York). 

July 10, 1851.— Col. (Bvt. Brig. Gen. Mar. 13, 1865) Henry K. Craig (Pennsylvania). 

Aug. 3, 1861.— Brig. Gen. (Bvt. Maj. Gen. Mar. 13, 1865) James W. Ripley (Con- 
necticut). 

Sept. 15, 1863.— Brig. Gen. (Bvt. Maj. Gen. Mar. 13, 1865) George D. Ramsey (District 
of Columbia). 

Sept. 12, 1864.— Brig. Gen. (Bvt. Maj. Gen. Mar. 13, 1865) Alexander B. Dyer (Mis- 
souri) . 

June 23, 1874.— Brig. Gen. Stephen V. Benet (Florida). 

Jan. 23, 1891.— Brig. Gen. Daniel W. Flagler (New York) . 

Apr. 5, 1899.— Brig. Gen. Adelbert R. Buffington (Virginia). 



THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 



JOURNALS OF THE AMERICAN (CONTINENTAL) CONGRESS. 

May ^7, 1775. 

Upon motion, agreed, that Mr. Washington, Mr. Schuyler, Mr. 
Mifflin, Mr. Deane, Mr. Morris, and Mr. S. Adams be a committee to 
consider on ways and means to supply these colonies with ammunition 
and military stores. 

Jime 10, 1775. 

Resolved.^ That it be recommended to the several towns and districts 
in the colonies of Massachusetts Bay, New Hampshire, Rhode Island 
and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, and the eastern 
division of New Jersey, to collect all the saltpetre and brimstone of 
their several towns and districts, and transmit the same, with all pos- 
sible dispatch, to the provincial convention at New York. 

That it be reconnnended to the provincial convention of the colony 
of New Y'ork to have the powder mills in that colony put into such a 
condition as immediateby to manufacture into gunpowder, for the use 
of the continent, whatever materials may be procured in the manner 
above directed. 

That it be recommended to the committees of the western division 
of New Jersey, the colonies of Pennsylvania, lower counties on Dela- 
wai'e and Maryland, that they without delay collect the saltpetre and 
sulphur in their respective colonies, and transmit the same for the 
committee of the city and liberties of Philadelphia, to the end that 
those articles may be immediately manufactured into gunpowder for 
the use of the continent. 

That it be recommended to the conventions and committees of the 
colonies of Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina that they 
without delay collect the saltpetre and sulphur in their respective col- 
onies, and procure these articles to be manufactured, as soon as pos- 
sible, into gunpowder for the use of the continent. 

That it be recommended to the several inhabitants of the United 
Colonies who are possessed of saltpetre and sulphur for their own 
use to dispose of them for the purpose of manufacturing gunpowder. 

That the saltpetre and sulphur collected in consequence of the above 
resolves of Congress be paid for out of the continental fund. 

That Ml-. Paine, Mr. Lee, Mr. Franklin, Mr. Schuyler, and Mr. 
Johnson be a conunittee to devise ways and means to introduce the 
manufacture of saltpetre in these colonies. 

535 



536 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY Oi" GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Jull/ IS, 1775. 

Whereas the Government of Great Britain hath prohibited the 
exportation of arms and ammunition to any of the plantations, and 
endeavored to prevent other nations from siippl^ying us: 

Resolved, That for the better furnishing these colonies with the 
necessary means of defending their rights, every vessel importing 
gunpowder, saltpetre, sulphur, provided they bring with the sulphur 
four times as much saltpetre, l)rass tield pieces, or good muskets fixed 
with bayonets, within nine months from the date of this resolution, 
shall be permitted to load and export the produce of these colonies to 
the value of such powder and stores aforesaid, the nonexportation 
agreement notwithstanding; and it is recommended to the committees 
of the several provinces to inspect the military stores so imported, 
and to estimate a generous price for the same, according to their good- 
ness, and permit the importer of such powder or other military stores 
aforesaid to export the value thereof, and no more, in produce of any 
kind. 

July 19, 1775. 

Resolved, That the appointment of ... a commissary of artil- 
lery be left to General Washington. 

Jnly 29, 1775. 

Resolved., That the pay of the . , . be . . . 
Commissary of artillery, thirty dollars per do. [month]. 

July 31, 1775. 

On motion made, resolved, that Mr. Langdon, Mr. J. Adams, Mr. 
Hopkins, Mr. Deane, Mr, Clinton, Mr. Crane, Doctor Franklin, Mr. 
Rodne}^, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Henry, Mr. Hewes, Mr. Gadsden, and Mr. 
Hall be a committee, in the recess of Congress, to make enquiry in all 
the colonies after virgin lead and leaden ores, and the best methods of 
collecting, smelting, and refining it. 

August 17, 1775. — "Mr. Ezekiel Cheever is appointed commissary of artillery 
stores." {Orders, General Headquarfers, Cambridge.) 

Se2)temher U, 1775. 

Ordered., That the delegates for Pennsylvania prepare and lay before 
the Congress to-morrow an account of the powder belonging to the 
United Colonies received, and how it is disposed of; also an account 
of all the powder now in this city. 

Septeniher IS, 1775. 

Resolved, That a secret committee ])e appointed to contract for the 
importation and deliverv of any quantity of gunpowder, not exceed- 
ing five hundi'ed tons. 

That in case such a quantit}^ of gunpowder can not be procured, to 
contract for the importation of so much saltpetre, with a proportion- 
ate quantity of sulphur, as with the powder procured will make five 
hundred tons. 



THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 537 

That the waid committee be empowered to contract for the importa- 
tion of forty brass held ])ieecs (six-pounders), for 10,000 stands of arms, 
and 20,000 good plain double bridle musket locks. 

* * * 

That the said (committee consist of nine members, an^" live of whom 
to ])e a quorum. 

The members chosen: Mr. Willing, Mr. Franklin, Mr. Livingston, 
Mr. Alsop, Mr. Deane, Mr. Dickinson, Mr. Langdon, Mr. McKean, 
and Mr. Ward. 

October 5, 1775. 

Resolved., That a letter be sent to General W^ashington to inform 
him that Congress, having received certain intelligence of the sailing 
of two north-countr3"-])uilt brigs, of no force, from England on the 
11th of August last, loaded with arms, powder, and other stores, for 
Quebec, without convoy, which it being of importance to intercept, 
desire that he apply to the council of Massachusetts Bay for the two 
armed vessels in their service, and despatch the same, with a sufficient 
mimber of people, stores, etc., particularly a number of oars, in order, 
if possible, to intercept the said two brigs and their cargoes and secure 
the same for the use of the continent; also any other transports laden 
with ammunition . . . for the use of the ministerial army or navy 
in America, and secure them in the most convenient places for the 
purpose abo\'e mentioned. 

Noimnher ^, 1775. 

Resolved, That it be recommended to the several assemblies or con- 
ventions of the colonies, respectively, to set and keep their gunsmiths 
at work to manufacture good firelocks, with bayonets; each firelock 
to l)e made with a good bridle lock, three-quarters of an inch bore, 
and of good substance at the breech, the barrel to be three feet eight 
inches in length, the bayonet to be eighteen inches in the blade, with 
a steel ramrod, the upper loop thereof to be trumpet mouthed; that 
the price to be given be fixed by the assembly or convention or com- 
mittee of safety of each colony, and that until a sufficient quantity of 
good arms can be manufactured they import as many as are wanted 
b}^ all the means in their power. 

ResoJved^ That the good arms of such soldiers as leave the service 
be retained for the use of the new Army, on a valuation made of them. 

Novemher 8, 1775. 

Resolved., That the secret committee appointed to contract for the 
importation of arms, ammunition, etc., be empowered to export to the 
foreign West Indies, on account and risque of the continent, as much 
provision or any other produce (except horned cattle, sheep, hogs, and 
poultr}") as they may deem necessary for the importation of arms, 
ammunition, sulphur, and saltpetre. 

November S, 1775. — The committee. appointed to confer with General Schuyler was 
instructed to advise the general to purchase the arms of sick oflficets and soldiers for 
the use of those who liad none or bad ones. 

Xovemher 10, 177.'). — The assemblies, conventions, and committees of safety of the 
thirteen united colonies requested to appoint persons in each colony to employ and 



538 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENEEAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

set to work as many persons as tliey may think proper, to work up such earth as is 
fit for making sahpetre and collect all such earth and composition of materials as are 
suitable to produce saltpetre. 

November 11, 1775. — Congress recommended to such proprietors of tobacco ware- 
houses and tobacco houses in Virginia and Maryland as can not speedily have the 
earth of the floors of their houses worked for saltpetre to cause those floors to be 
dug up and left fine, loose, and light, at least six inches deep, suffering the tobacco 
stalks and trashy leaves to be spread thereon. 

November 18, 1775. — "The Commissary-General to order all the horns of the bullocks 
that are killed for the use of the Army to be saved and sent to the Quartermaster- 
General, who is also to provide as many as he can get, and have the whole made 
into good powder horns for the use of the troops." {Orders, General Headquarters, 
Cambridge. ) 

November 20, 1775. 

Resolved, That the secret committee be empowered to contract for 
the importation of an hundred tons of lead. 

January S, 1776. 

Resolved, That the following goods and stores ought to be imported 
as soon as possible for the use of the United Colonies, viz: 

* * * 

20,000 stand of arms. 
300 tons of lead. 
1,000,000 of flints. 

1,600 boxes of tin, and wire properly sorted for it. 

* * * 

500 sheets of copper of different sorts. 
Resolved, That the secret committee be empowered and directed to 
pursue the most effectual measures for importing the foregoing articles. 

January 8, 1776. 

Information being given to Congress that about fifty-seven tons of 
saltpetre were arrived at Philadelphia, and about 15 tons of powder at 
New York, for sale: 

Resolved, That the secret committee be directed to treat for the 
purchase of the saltpetre, and enquire how it may be most speedily 
manufactured into powder, and report to Congress. 

January 15, 1776. 

Resolved, That a committee of five be appointed to make an estimate 
of the number of cannon that may be wanted for the defense of the 
United Colonies and to devise ways and means for procuring them, 
and that it be an instruction to said committee to enquire what size 
cannon can be cast in these Colonies. 

The members chosen: Mr. Wisner, Mr. Hopkins, Mr. Rogers, Mr. 
Allen, and Mr. Paine. 

January 21, 1776. — "The colonel or commanding officer of each regiment is forth- 
with to send out one or two prudent and sensible oflicers to buy up such arms as are 
wanted for his regiment. These officers to be also good judges of arms, and they are 
directed to purchase none but such as are proper and in the best repair, and if pos- 
sible to get them with bayonets, T)ut not to refuse a good firelock without. ' ' ( Orders, 
General Headquarters, Cambridge. ) 



THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 539 

January 28, 1776. — "The colonels or commanding officers of regiments are requested 
to buy any good arms which the militia may voluntarily incline to sell." {Orders, 
General Headquarters, Cambridge.) 

February 3, 1776. — "All arms purchased by the officers sent upon that duty are to 
be first delivered to Mr. Commissary Cheever for inspection, who is to report their 
number and goodness to the general before they are delivered out of his store." 
( Orders, General Headquarters, Cambridge. ) 

FebTuarij 5^ 1776. 

Hcfiolved^ . . . That the appointments by General Schuyler of 
Mr. Hul)bard Brown to be conductor of artillery, . . . Mr. Peter 
Schuyler to take charge of the arms, . , . be confirmed; and that 
General Schuyler be desired to inform Congress of the proper salaries 
to be annexed to these offices. 

Be.soJved, . . . That it be recommended to the convention or 
committee of safety of New York to prosecute the discovery of the 
lead mine at New Canaan. 

February W, 1776. 

Resolved., That two hundred and fifty twelve-pounders, sixty nine- 
pounders, and sixty-two four-pounders be purchased for the use of 
these (yolonies; 

That the committee on ways and means of procuring- cannon be 
empowered to purchase or contract for making the same; 

That a new member be added to the committee. 

The member chosen: Mr. W. Livingston. 

Fehrunry 23, 1776. 

Resolved, That a committee of five be appointed to contract for the 
making of muskets and bayonets for the use of the United Colonies, 
and to consider of farther wa^^s and means of promoting and encourag- 
ing the manufacture of firearms in all parts of the United Colonies. 

The members chosen: Mr. Paine, Mr. Wilson, Mr. Huntington, Mr. 
Lee, and Mr. L. Morris. 

* * * 

Resolved, That the secret committee be empowered, for the purpose 
of procuring arms and ammunition, to export the produce of these 
Colonies, equal to the amount of that by them exported in two vessels 
lately taken by the enemy. 

* * * 

Resolved, That it be recommended to the several assemblies, con- 
ventions, councils, or conuuittees of safety, and committees of corre- 
spondence and inspection in the Ignited Colonies to exert themselves 
in devising farther wa3"s and means of promoting and encouraging the 
manufacture of saltpetre and of introducing that manufacture into 
private families. 

That it be recommended to the assemblies and conventions in the 
United Colonies that they immediately establish public works in each 
and every county in their respective colonies, at the expense of such 
colonies, for the nianufacture of saltpetre, and appoint committees of 
their own members immediately to set up such manufactures; 



540 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

That it be recommended to the assemblies and conventions, councils, 
or committees of safety of every colony forthwith to erect powder 
mills in their respective colonies, and appoint committees to build such 
mills and procure persons well skilled in the manufacture of powder, 
at the expense of such colonies; 

That a committee of this Congress, to consist of one member from 
each colony, be appointed to consider of further ways and means of 
promoting and encouraging the manufactures of saltpetre, sulphur, 
and gunpowder in these colonies, and to correspond with the several 
assemblies and conventions and councils or committees of safety in 
the several colonies, that Congress may be from time to time truly 
informed of the progi'ess made in these manufactures. 

The members chosen: Mr. Bartlett, Mr. Faine, Mr. Hopkins, Mr. 
Huntington, Mr. L. Morris, Mr. Sergeant, Mr. Humphrevs, Mr. Read, 
Mr. Paca, Mr. Braxton, Mr. Hewes, Mr. E. Rutledge, and Mr. Pnillock. 

March 3, 1776. — "The Quartermaster-General may draw the carbines out of the 
commissary's stores and put them into the hands of the carpenters or such others 
as he shall think will use them to the best advantage, taking care to retxn-n them 
when called for. All arms in store fit for use may be delivered out to the Adjutant- 
General's order." {Orders, General Headquarters, Cambridge.) 

April 13, 1776. 

Resolved., That the committee for casting cannon be directed to 
contract for the casting of fort}^ howitzers, with a sufficient quantity 
of shells. 

April 19, 1776. 

Resolved, That an immediate supply of arms ... be furnished 
for the troops in Virginia, and that proper persons be appointed to 
procure them, subject to the order of Congress already entered into. 

May U, 1776. 

Resolved, That, as a number of arms, fit for use, may be bought from 
the owners, who may incline to sell them, General Washington be 
directed to employ such an agent as he has proposed to go into the 
colonies for that purpose. 

Resolved, That the secret committee l>e directed to deliver to Colonel 
Jacob Ford, jr., three tons of saltpetre to be by him manufactured 
into gunpowder for the use of the United Colonies, on the same terms 
as others have agreed to manufacture it. 

* * * 

That the said committee be directed to deliver to Colonel Bird 200 
lbs. of powder to prove the cannon he is making for the United Colo- 
nies. 

Resolved, That the committee appointed to contract for the making 
of cannon be directed to employ proper persons to attend and see the 
cannon proved. 

May 18, 1776. 

Resolved, That it [letter from Mr. Langdon] be referred to the com- 
mittee of secret correspondence and that the said committee be directed 
to apply to the marine committee for the use of one or more of the 
continental fleet; and that they send the same to the French West 



THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 541 

India Islands, in order to procure, if possible, a number of muskets, 
not exceeding 10,000. 

May 23, 1776. — From a resolve of this date, it appears that a continental factory 
of firearms existed at Lancaster, Pa., and a gunlock factory at Trenton, N. J. 

May 25, 1776. 

Resolved, That the arms, ammunition, and military stores taken by 
the armed schooner Franldm, or any other of the armed vessels in 
the pay of the United Colonies, be at the disposal of the general or 
Commander in Chief of the American forces. 

June 3, 1776. 

Resolved, . . . That the general assembly of the colony of 
Massachusetts Bay, the governor and assembly of the colony of Con- 
necticut, the conventions of New York and New Jersey, and the sev- 
eral conventions of such other of the United Colonies, in which there 
are any lead mines, be requested to transmit to Congress, with all con- 
venient dispatch, the state and condition of the lead mines in their 
respective colonies, and use the most speedy means to procure their 
being wrought to effect. 

* * * 

Resolved, . . . That the Commander in Chief be authorized to 
form and fix such magazines of . . . military stores as he may 
judge necessary. 

June 17, 1776. 

Resolved, . . . That the committee appointed to contract for 
cannon be directed to procure a number of brass or iron field pieces, 
to be made or purchased immediately. 

June 25, 1776. 

Resolved, That the committee appointed to contract for making 
muskets be directed to consider the propriety of granting a bounty, 
or other means, for encouraging the making of muskets. 

Jul(/ J^, 1776. 

Resolved, That the Board of War be empowered to employ such a 
number of persons as they shall find necessary to manufacture flints 
for the Continent; and, for this purpose, to apply to the respective 
assemblies, conventions, and councils, or committee of safety of the 
United American States, or committees of inspection of the counties 
and towns thereunto belonging, for the names and places of abode of 
persons skilled in the manufactory aforesaid, and of the places in their 
respective States where the best flint stones are to be obtained, with 
samples of the same. 

July 5, 1776. 

Resolved, That Mr. John Coburn, who has acted as an assistant con- 
ductor of military stores in Canada, and has produced certificates of 
his having done his duty in that station, be allowed lieutenant's pay 
from the first day of March to the first day of June last. 



542 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

July 10, 1776. 

The Congress proceeded to the election of a commissary of military 
stores for the flying camp; and the ballots being taken, 
Benjamin Flower, esq., was elected. 

July 19, 1776. 

JRemlved, That the committee appointed to contract for the making 
cannon be empowered to contract with Messrs. Hughes for one thou- 
sand tons of cannon on the terms by them proposed. 

Augtist 21, 1770. 

Resolved, That the cannon committee be directed to contract for the 
immediate casting of six 6-pounders, six 12-pounders, four 8-inch 
howitzers, four 6-inch howitzers, and cohorn mortars, to be made of 
brass, if a suflicient quantity of that metal can be procured; if not, to » 
be cast of iron, and sent as soon as possible to General Gates for the 
use of the northern army, and that the said committee provide also 
carriages and everything necessary to complete the said artiller}^ for 
service. 

August 28, 1776. 

Resolved, That there be an inspector or inspectors sufficiently quali- 
fied to judge the goodness of gunpowder, who shall examine every 
cask of gunpowder manufactured or to l)e purchased on account of the 
United States, b}' the most approved method of ascertaining the quality 
of gunpowder; that said inspector or inspectors to receive one-eighth 
part of a dollar for every hundredweight of powder he or they shall 
so examine; 

That no gunpowder be received into the public magazine for the use 
of the United States of America, or delivered from the powder mills 
fort hat purpose, but such as has been approved by the public inspector 
as to its quickness in firing, strength, dryness, and other necessary 
qualities; 

That the inspector mark each cask approved with the letters U. S. A. , 
and such other marks as are necessary to distinguish the several sorts 
of powder; 

That every maker of gunpowder mark ev^ery cask in which he shall 
pack his gunpowder with the first letters of his name; 

That gunpowder be put into no casks but such as are well seasoned 
and dry; 

That it be recommended to the legislatures of the sev^eral States of 
America to cause suitable inspectors to be appointed to examine and 
determine the qualitv of all gunpowder manufactured within their 
jurisdiction, and that no person be allowed to vend any gunpowder 
manufactured in any of the States of America unless the same, in the 
judgment of such inspector, shall be of sufficient quality, and to make 
such laws for executing this or any other regulations for promoting 
the manufacture of good gunpowder as to them may seem most con- 
venient. 

Congress then proceeded to the election of an inspector of gunpowder; 
and, the ballots being taken, 

Robert Towers was chosen. 



THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT 543 

Septemher 18, 1776. 

* * 

Ordered, That the secret committee furnish the said committee 
[appointed to contract for casting cannon] with two barrels of powder 
for proving cannon. 

September' 20, 1776. 

Ordei'ed, That Mr. Paine write to Governor Trumbull respecting the 
practicabilit}" of enlarging the furnace at Salisbury for casting heavy 
cannon there, and request his opinion concerning the same. 

Septemher "27, 1776. 

Ordered, That the secret committee deliver to the board of war the 
care and custody of all arms, ammunition, and other warlike stores 
now under their care or that may hereafter be imported or purchased 
by them for account of the United States of America. 

<hd(>f)er 21, 1776. 

The secret committee having informed Congress that a vessel was 
arrived in New Hampshire with a cargo on account of the Continent, 
among which was a quantity of flints, it was thereon 

Mesolved, That the secret committee be directed to order 30,000 of 
the said flints to General Schujder, for the use of the army in the 
Northern Department, and the remainder to General Washington, for 
the use of the army under his immediate command. 

October 22, 1776. 

The secret committee reported that the cargo lately arrived at 
Portsmouth in the l>rig Marquis of Kildare, Captain Palmer, consists 
of the following articles, viz, . . . 250 small arms, 100,000 flints, 
. and 10 tons of lead; whereupon. 

Resolved, . . . That 60,000 flints be sent to General Washington; 

That 88,000 flints, 150 small arms, . . . and 8 tons of lead be 
sent to the northern army, under General Schu} ler and General Gates. 

Novemher J^, 1776. 

Resolved, That it be recommended to the several assemblies or con- 
ventions of the colonies, respectively, to set and keep their gunsmiths 
at work to manufacture good flrelocks, with bayonets, each iirelock 
be made with a good bridle lock, three-quarters of an inch bore, and 
of good substance at the breech, the barrel to be three feet 8 inches in 
length, the bayonet to be 18 inches in the blade, with a steel ramrod, 
the upper loop thereof to be trumpet-mouthed; that the price to be 
given to be flxed by the assembly or convention or committee of each 
Colony, and that until a sufiicient quantity of good arms can be manu- 
factur(>d they inq^ort as many as are wanted by all the means in their 
power. 



544 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Resolved^ That the good arms of such soldiers as leave the service 
be retained for the use of the new army, on a valuation made of them. 

Novemlxr 19^ 1776. 

Resolved^ That 100 three-pounders, 50 six-pounders, 50 twelve- 
pounders, 13 eighteen-pounders, and 13 twenty-four-pounders, all of 
brass, l)e immediately provided as field artillery for the use of the 
armies of the United States; 

That the secret coumiittee be directed to take the most effectual meas- 
ures for procuring the said brass artillery; that the said committee 
confer with the committee for procuring cannon and consult with them 
how many they can provide; 

That this matter be kept as secret as the nature of the business will 
admit. 

Resol'ved^ . . . That some proper person be appointed to act in 
the capacity of armorer to assist the coumiissary of [military] stores 
in inspecting, superintending repairs, and taking care of all the Conti- 
nental arms in the public magazine at Philadelphia. 

November 19, 1776. — Congress desired Pennsylvania and the States south to lay up 
military stores, ammunition, etc. 

November 26, 1776. 

Resolved., That the cannon committee be directed to enquire what 
quantity of cannon are on board the prize ship that arrived yesterday 
in the port of Philadelphia, and if the}' are lit for field artillery to take 
measures to have them mounted on proper carriages and sent to 
General Washington. 

Novemher 28. 1776. 

Resolved., That a letter be sent to Governor Trumbull, desiring him 
to order 20 cannon, carrying shot of 18 pounds weight, to be cast at 
Salisbury furnace; . . 

That skillful persons be sent to examine the Salisbury and Mr. 
Livingston's founderies; and if it be found that a sufficient number of 
cannon may be cast there, that proper artificers be forthwith employed 
in the work, an agreement being first made with Governor Trumbull 
and Mr. Livingston for that purpose. 

November 28, 1776. — A plan for an artillery yard was referred to a coiumittee com- 
posed of Messrs. R. H. Lee, Paine, and Middleton. 

Non^nihei' 29, 1776. 

Resolved, That the secret committee be directed to provide, as soon 
as may be, arms . . . for 3,000 horse. 

Deaemher 2, 1770. 

Resolved, That it be recommended to the governor and council of 
Virginia to take the most etfectual measures for purchasing and col- 
lecting, for Continental use, all the copper and other materials fit for 
casting brass field artillery that can be got in that State, tuid the Con- 
gress will defray the cost and expense of the same. 



THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 545 

December 12, 1770. — Owing to the approach of the enemy, Congress ordered that 
the arms and anniiunition in and near Philadelphia be i^ut under control of General 
Putnam, who was chai'ged with the defense of the city. 

December 24-^ 1776. 

Resolved., That two other magazines of ammunition, in addition to 
that agreed on the 21st, be formed, one in the Eastern States and one 
in the Southern States. 

Ordered., That the Delegates of the Eastern States confer together, 
and also those of the Southern States, and fix upon proper places, and 
report to Congress on Thursday next. 

Deceirdjer 30, 1776. 

Resolved., That General Schuyler, or the commanding officer of the 
northern army, be directed to cause an elaboratory to be erected at 
such place as he shall judge most convenient, to fix all the necessary 
ammunition for the ensuing campaign. 

January IJp., 1777. 

Resolved., That Messrs. Morris, Clymer, and Walton be directed, 
with all possible dispatch, to procure in the State of Pennsylvania or 
New Jersey, and send to Albany, three tons of steel and five tons of 
nail rods for the use of the Army in the Northern Department. 

January '2'2, 1777. 

Resolved, . . . That Thomas Butler be appointed public armorer, 
and that he immediately repair to the city of Philadelphia to superin- 
tend the said business agreeably to the resolve of the 19tli of November; 

That he be allowed 3 dollars a day for his pay and subsistence. 

January %J^., 1777 . 

Resolved., That the pay of the commissar}^ of military stores, to be 
appointed to take charge and care of the Continental stores in Mary- 
land, be 40 dollars per month, 

Fihruary i, 1777. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a commissary of military stores 
in Maryland; and the ballots being taken, 
Mr. Saint George Peale was elected. 

February U, 1777. 

Resolved, That Mr. K. T. Paine be empowered and directed to con- 
tract with Colonel (iridley for fort}' 8-inch iron howitzers, upon terms 
that he shall judge reasonable. 

February U, 1'^'^'^- 

Resolved, That the several States be requested to take the most efi'ec- 
tual steps for immediately collecting from the inhabitants not in actual 
service all Continental arms and give notice of the number they shall 
collect to (iieneral Washington; 

S. Doc. 229 85 



546 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENEEAL STAFF OF U. S. AKMY. 

That all arms and accoutrements belonging to the United States be 
stamped or marked with the words United jStates; all arms already 
made to be stamped upon such parts as will receive the impression, and 
those hereafter to be manufactured to be stamped with the said words 
on every part composing the stand, and all arms and accoutrements so 
stamped or marked shall ))e taken whenever found for the use of the 
States, except they shall l)e in the hands of those actually in Conti- 
nental service; 

That it be recommended to the legislatures of the several States to 
enact proper laws for the punishment of those who shall unlawfully 
take, secrete, refuse, or neglect to deliver any Continental arms or 
accoutrements which they may have in their possession. 

March U, 1777. 

Rewlved, That the pay of Mr. Nathaniel Barber, jr., deput}^ com- 
missar}^ of artillery in the Eastern Department, be 53 dollars and ^ 
per month, and three rations a day. 

March %%, 1777. 

Resolved., That the Board of War be empowered to contract with Mr. 
Wheeler for a number of cannon of the new construction, invented by 
the said Wheeler. 

March 31, 1777. 

Congress having received advice that the ship Mercury of Nantz is 
arrived at Portsmouth, in New Hampshire, with a cargo for the United 
States, consisting of 11,987 fusees, 1,000 barrels of powder, 11,000 
gunflints, ,. . . 

Ordered, That 5,000 of the arms be delivered to the order of the 
council of Massachusetts Bay, for the purpose of arming the troops 
raised in that State for the Army of the United States; . . . 

Ordered, That 15 tons of the powder be delivered to the order of the 
council of Massachusetts Bay, . 

Ordered, That the secret committee deliver the remainder of the 
powder, arms, and flints to the order of the Board of W^ar, . . 

April 2, 1777. 

Ordered, That a copy of the letter this day received from General 
Washington be sent to the council of Penns3'lvania and to the gov- 
ernors of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia, and that Governor 
Johnson, of Maryland be requested to give orders for the immediate 
removal of the powder and military stores at Annapolis to the town of 
Frederick, in Maryland, and the powder and military stores at Balti- 
more to the town of Carlisle, in Pennsylvania, and take measures to 
have this done with all possible expedition. 

Ajjril 9, 1777. 

Resoh)ed, That the Commissary-General of Military Stores be 
directed immediately to furnish as many rifles, not exceeding 1,000, 
to be sent to Fort Pitt, as he can procure, . 



THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 547 

Resolved^ That it be recormnended to the good people of the States 
to furnish the Commissary-General of Military Stores with all such 
articles he may want for the use of the Arm}^, at a reasonable price; 
and that the several legislatures or executive powers of the States be 
desired to exempt from military duty all persons in the militia who 
are or shall be employed in casting shot and manufacturing military 
stores of every species while such persons shall be emplo3^ed in the said 
service. 

April 11, 1777. 

Resolved.^ . . . That Colonel Flower, Commissary-General of 
Military Stores, be empowered to purchase 200 rifles and their accou- 
trements, to be sent to Fort Pitt. 

April U, 1777. 

Besolved, That the resolution passed the 27th [24th] of December 
last, for erecting a magazine and laboratory in the town of Brooktield, 
in the State of Massachusetts Bay, be repealed; and that, instead 
thereof, a magazine sufficient to contain 10,000 stand of arms and 200 
tons of gunpowder, and laboratory adjacent thereto, be erected in 
Springfield, in the said State. 

May 3, 1777. 

Resolved, That John Belton be authorized and appointed to super- 
intend and direct the making or altering 100 muskets on the construc- 
tion exhibited by him and called "the new improved gun," and that 
he receive a reasonable compensation for his trouble and be allowea 
all just and necessary expenses. 

June W, 1777. 

Resolved, . . . That the Board of War may order the commissary 
of hides to deliver to the commissar}- of military stores so much of the 
leather in his hands as may be necessary for making accoutrements, 
etc. , for the Army ... 

That the secret committee . . . import from the Spanish West 
Indies such a quantity of dried hid-^s as they may judge necessary 
for . . . public uses. 

July 23, 1777. 

Resolved, That the committee appointed to contract for the casting 
of cannon be directed to deliver to the Board of War and Ordnance all 
the contracts they have made, . = . and that they be discharged 
from proceeding farther in that business; and that the Board of War 
and Ordnance be vested with the powers granted to the aforesaid com- 
mittee, and that they be directed to attend to the execution of the said 
contracts, and to take such measures as thej^ shall judge proper and 
efl'ectual for procuring a proper supply of cannon for the land . . . 
service . 

Juh/ 28, 1777. 

R&-<olved, That the Board of War be empowered to purchase such 
powder and military stores ofl'ered for sale in any of these States as 
they may judge necessary for the public service. 



548 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

August 8, 1777. 

It having- been represented to Congress that Darby Lux, Anson 
Butler, Nicholas Haite, Thomas James, and Nathaniel Owings, of 
Baltimore County, in the State of Maryland, gentlemen, have in com- 
pany undertaken to open a lead mine and to erect works for smelting 
the ore, and that the inhabitants in the neighborhood have refused to 
permit them to proceed in the prosecution of their design without 
credentials from Congress that they are friends to the United States, 
and it appearing to Congress, by the representation of the governor 
and delegates of Maryland, that^the said gentlemen are faithful friends 
to the American cause, 

Resolved., That it be recommended to the inhabitants in the neigh- 
borhood of the lead mine aforesaid to permit the same to be worked 
by the above gentlemen, and to give them every encouragement in the 
prosecution of a work of such public utility and from which a supply 
of lead may be drawn for the service of these States. 

August 11, 1777. 

Resolved., That Mons. du Coudray be appointed inspector-general of 
ordnance and military manufactories, with the rank of major-general. 

August 26., 1777. 

Resolved., That the supreme executive council of Pennsylvania be 
requested to order all the leaden spouts in Philadelphia to be taken 
down for the use of the laboratory. 

* * * 

Resolved., That it be recommended to the supreme executive council 
of the State of Pennsylvania to cause a diligent search to be made in 
the houses of all the inhabitants of the city of Philadelphia, who have 
not manifested their attachment to the American cause, for firearms, 
swords, and bayonets; that the owners of the arms so found be paid 
for them at an appraised value, and that they be delivered to such of 
the militia of the State of Pennsylvania who are at present unarmed 
and have been called into the field. 

September 16, 1777. — The Commissary-General of Military Stores was ordered to 
remove to Bethlehem, or some other place of safety, the stores belonging to his 
department ordered to, or deposited in, Trenton, N. J. 

September 18, 1777. — Colonel Flower submitted a list of all the officers, etc., in the 
department of the Commissary-General of Military Stores, and Congress granted 
them commissions. 

Septemher 27, 1777. 

Resolved, That the Board of War be directed to cooperate with 
General Washington in devising and carrying into execution effectual 
measures for supplying- the Army with firearms . . . and other 
necessaries, and that in executing this business these collections be con- 
fined, as much as circumstances will admit, to persons of dissatisfied 
and equivocal characters. 

October 6, 1777. — " Buckshot are to be put into all the cartridges which shall here- 
after be made." (Orders, General Headquarters, Perkiomy.) 



THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 549 

October 30, 1777. 

Resolved., That the government of the State of Connecticut be 
requested to permit the workmen at Salisbury iron works to cast 
mortars for continental use of such calibres and in such numbers as 
shall be directed by Brigadier-General Knox, and that he be informed 
of this resolution, and desired to write to Governor Trumbull on the 
subject. 

That a letter be written by the Board of War to the government of 
the State of New York, representing, in the strongest terms, the great 
want of lead and the absolute necessity there is for providing season- 
able resources of that article; that it be therefore earnestly recom- 
mended to the said government forthwith to take measures for having 
the lead mines in that State worked; and that, in case a sufficient num- 
ber of labourers can not be procured for that purpose, the commissary- 
general of prisoners })e directed to furnish a competent number of 
prisoners of war for that end. 

November 11, 1777. 

Ordered. That commissions be granted to the following persons in 
the department of the Commissary-General of Military Stores, with 
the dates annexed to their respective names, agreeably to the said 
list, viz: 

Of the company to W'ork in the laboratory, enlisted to serve during 
the war as artillerj'men : Isaac Cowan, captain, February the 1st, 1777; 
Will. E. Godfrey, captain -lieutenant, March the 1st, 1777; Andrew 
Caldwell, second lieutenant, April the 1st, 1777. 

Of the company of artillery artificers, enlisted during the war, to 
be attached to the artillery in the field: Jesse Roe, captain, February 
the 3rd, 1777; Valentine Hoffman, captain-lieutenant, February the 
V2ih, 1777; Christian Beackly, first lieutenant, February the 3rd, 1777; 
and Will Preston, second lieutenant, April 7, 1777. 

Of the companies of artillery artificers, enlisted to serve for one 
year, and ordered to be reenlisted to serve during the war: Nathaniel 
Irish, captain, February 7th, 1777; Thomas Wylie, captain-lieutenant, 
February 17th, 1777; George Norris, first lieutenant, February 8th, 
1777; James Sweiney, second lieutenant, February 22d, 1777; David 
Pancoast, captain, February 10th, 1777; John Jordan, captain-lieuten- 
ant, February 17th, 1777; James Gibson, first lieutenant, February 
17th, 1777. 

Jonathan Gostelow, major, commissary of military stores, February 
1st, 1777; Joseph Watkins, major, commissary of ordnance stores, 
February 5th, 1777; AVollory Meng, captain, superintendent of leather 
manufactory, April 1st, 1777; Samuel Sergeant, superintendent of the 
public works at Carlisle, and keeper of all the stores, August, 1777; 
his pay, 60 dollars a month and -1 rations a day. 

Charles Lukens, major, commissar}^ of military stores and paymas- 
ter to the commissary -general of military stores in the department 
at Carlisle, March 8th, 1777, his pay 60 dollars a month and 4 rations 
a day. 

Johnson Smith, contractor and procurer of all the lumber and some 
other materials wanted for tlie public works at Carlisle, July 21st, 1777; 
pay, 60 dollars a month and 3 rations a day. 



550 LEGISLATIVE HISTOET OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Cornelius Sweers, assistant commissary of military stores at Phila- 
delphia, February 1st, 1777. 

Alexander Power, quartermaster to the corps of artillery artificers 
at Carlisle, July 30th, 1777; same pay and rations as regimental quar- 
termaster. 

Samuel French, major, commissary of military stores, Januarj^ 18th, 
1777, with the Army. 

George Everson, captain, deputy commissary of military stores, 
January 18th, 1777. 

Alexander Henderson, captain, deputy commissary of military stores, 
September 10th, 1777. 

November 22, 1777. — In view of the difficulty of purchasing any stores at reasonable 
prices, the several States were invited to adopt and enforce a teruporary regulation 
of prices. 

December 21, 1777. — "The General congratulates the Army on the arrival of a 
French ship at Portsmouth, with 48 brass cannon (4-pounders, with carriages com- 
plete), 19 9-inch mortars, 2,500 9-inch bombs, 2,000 4-pound l)alls, intrenching tools, 
4,100 stands of arms, a quantity of powder, and 61,051 pounds of sulphur." ( Orders, 
(Jeneral Headquarters, Valley Forge.) 

Jcmuary 15^ 1778. 

Resolved, That the Board of War be authorized to direct Colonel 
Flower to make a contract with Mr. Whitehead Humphreys, on the 
terms of the former agreement, or such other as Colonel Flower shall 
deem equitable, for making a quantity of steel for the supply of the 
continental artificers and works with that necessary article; and as 
the iron made at the Andover works only will with certaint}' answer 
the purpose of making steel, that Colonel Flower be directed to apply 
to the government of New Jersey to put a proper person in charge of 
these works (the same belonging to persons who adhere to the enemies 
of these States) upon such terms as the government of the State of 
New Jerse3' shall think proper, and that Colonel Flower contract 
with the said person for such quantit}^ of iron as he shall think the 
service requires. 

Rewlved., That a letter be written by the Board of War to the gov- 
ernor and council of the State of New Jersey, setting forth the pecul- 
iarity of the demand for these works, being the only proper means of 
procuring iron for steel, an article without which the service must 
irreparably sufi'er, and that the said governor and council be directed 
to take such means as they shall think most proper for putting the 
said works in blast and obtaining a suppl}^ of iron without delay. 

February If., 1778. 

Resolved^ That Captain Isaac Cowan receive monthly 25 dollars addi- 
tional pay, besides his present appointments, in consideration of his 
teaching the laboratory art to such officers of artillery as shall be sent 
to him for that purpose. 

Ordered, That 2,000 dollars be advanced to Captain Isaac Cowan to 
pay his company of laboratory artillerymen and to recruit the said com- 
pan}^ to 100 men, agreeably to the directions of General Washington. 



THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 551 

Fehniary o, 1778. 

Hesolved, That the Board of War and Ordnance be directed to lay 
before Congress an estmiate of the expense of erecting and carrying 
on a foundry for brass ordnance, the number of persons necessary to 
conduct the business, and the proper salaries for each. 

Fehruary 11, 1778. 

Resolved.^ That there shall be one commissary-general of military 
stores, whose business it shall be to receive and deliver all arms, ammu- 
nition, and accoutrements of every species and denomination, to pro- 
vide and contract for all such articles as may be wanted in this depart- 
ment, according to the directioMS he shall receive from the Board of 
War and Ordnance; to receive and collect returns from all the differ- 
ent States where there are any continental arms and stores, draw them 
into one general return, and on the first day of every month deliver 
one to the Board of War and Ordnance. 

In case of vacancy, occasioned by death, resignation, or otherwise, 
of any of the commissaries, commissaries' deputies, or conductors, which 
may happen in any department near to where the Commissary-General 
may be, he shall have permission to fill such vacancy, pro tempore, 
until it shall be confirmed or disapproved by Congress. 

All moneys to be drawn on account of military stores to be, by appli- 
cation of the Commissary-General or his deputies, to the Board of War 
and Ordnance; and all moneys so drawn to be accounted for by him 
once in every six months to the Board of Treasury or to such auditors 
or commissioners as the said board shall direct. All commissaries, 
deputy commissaries, or conductors who may have money advanced to 
them by the Commissary-General for the use of their several depart- 
ments to keep regular accounts and produce vouchers and receipts for 
the sums paid, and account for the same to the Commissary-General 
once every month or as often as called for. 

All continental armourers shall be under the direction of the Board of 
War and Ordnance and of the commissary-genera! of military stores, 
the armourers to receive from the said connnissary all arms to be 
repaired, make returns of the state of repairs when demanded, and 
deliver the arms when repaired into his store, the principal armourer or 
armourers at each and every armoury to be accountable for all such arms 
as he or they shall receive until they are repaired and delivered to the 
Commissarj'-General, his deputies or assistants; and the said Commis- 
sai-y-General shall see that every method is taken by the armourers to 
hasten the repair of the arms; the principal armourers to receive money 
from the Commissary-General for the contingent expenses of their 
departments, and the Commissary-General shall produce their accounts 
and vouchers at the adjustment of his accounts. 

That there be as many deputies, assistants, commissaries, deput}^ 
commissaries, conductors, and clerks as the exigency of the service shall 
require, to be appointed l)y the Board of War and Ordnance; and the 
said board are, from time to time, to report all such appointments to 
Congress. 

That the pay of officers in the department of the conimissary-general 
of military stores be as follows: 

Commissary-General, 100 dollars per month and six rations a day; 



552 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GP:NEKAL STAFF OF U. S. AEMY. 

deputy commissaries-general, of which there shall be one in each mili- 
tary division of the States, each 75 dollars per month and five rations 
per day. 

Commissaries, each, 60 dollars per month and 4 rations per day. 
Deputy commissaries, 50 do. do. 4 do. 

Conductors, 40 do. do. 2 do. 

Clerks. 40 do. do. 2 do. 

The Commissary -General shall be allowed forage for two horses; his 
deputies, assistants, commissaries, and conductors to be allowed forage 
for one horse each; and the captains of the artillery artificers, respec- 
tively, when duty requires their traveling to collect materials, to have 
forage for one horse. 

That for the future no rank be annexed to the oiEcers in this depart- 
ment, except they belong to the regiment of artillery artificers, and 
then their rank only to take place as officers of that corps, the pay also 
which they receive as officers in that regiment to be included in the pay 
herein settled for the officers of the Commissary-Generars department. 

That a return l)e made to the Board of War and Ordnance once every 
month of all officers employed in the civil branch of ordnance and 
military stores. 

All commissaries, deputy commissaries, conductors, and clerks who 
shall have the separate charge of any stores are, on the first day of 
every month, to make out an exact return of all cannon and military 
stores of every species and denomination, one copy whereof they shall 
transmit to the Commissary-General, who is to put them into one gen- 
eral return, as heretofore directed, and one other copy thereof the said 
commissaries, deputy commissaries, conductors, and clerks, are to send 
to the Board of War and Ordnance. 

All the artillery artificers that are or may be employed at any 
armouries, laboratories, founderies, or militar}^ magazines (those 
employed with the army in the field excepted), shall be under the 
immediate direction and subject to the orders and command of the 
Commissary-General, or the officer directed by him to take charge of 
the same. 

The Quartermaster-General, his deputies and assistants, shall give 
the Commissary-General ever}^ assistance of teams for the removal of 
public stores, and in case there be no quartermaster in the department 
or place from whence the stores are to be removed, the Commissary- 
General shall have power to procure teams in the way and manner that 
will best promote the public service. 

All officers, artificers, and others in the ordnance and military 
department shall be govei-ned by the Rules and Articles of War, in the 
same mannei" as other officers in the artillery of the United States. 

The Commissary -General shall give such forms or returns and 
instructions to his deputies, assistant commissaries, conductors, etc., 
as the service and situation of their department shall require; and all 
oflBcers in this department are to attend to such orders and instructions 
as they shall receive from time to time from the Board of War and 
Ordnance or the Commissary-General. 

All regulations incidental to the department, and not enlarging the 
powers and authorities here given, shall be settled and made by the 
Board of War and Ordnance. 

The Board of War and Ordnance shall transmit, from time to time, 



THE OEDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 558 

as the service shall render necessary, transcripts of all returns received 
from the commissary -general of military stores, and also accounts of 
all ordnance and stores under their care or belonging to the United 
States, and the places where the same are deposited, to the commander 
in chief of the armies of the United States, in order that he may make 
such requisitions of supplies for the army under his immediate com- 
mand or for the separate departments as he shall think proper, and 
give such advice and directions as to the disposition of them as circum- 
stances may from time to time require. 

The conmianding officer of artillery, for the time being, in the 
Grand Army, with the chief engineer, commissary of artillery, and 
eldest colonel of artillery, in camp or such of them as are present with 
the Army, shall be a subordinate board of ordnance, under the direc- 
tion of the commander in chief or the Board of War and Ordnance, for 
transacting all business of the Ordnance Department necessary to be 
done in the tield, and to have the care of all ordnance and stores at 
camp; and in case of sudden exigency the commissary-general of mili- 
tar}^ stores shall be obliged to obey their directions as to any supplies 
wanted by the Army out of the stores not in camp, and the said board 
shall correspond with and report their proceedings to the Board of 
War and Ordnance, from whom they are to receive an}^ necessary 
assistance. 

Resolved^ That the pay of Col. Benjamin Flower's corps of artillery 
artificers shall be, for all those who engage to serve the United States 
as such for three years, or during the war, $20 a month, besides the 
same bount}^, clothing, and every other benefit allowed by Congress 
to the continental artillery; the officers the same pay of others of equal 
rank in the continental artillery; and that Colonel Flower augment the 
four companies ordered to be raised in January last, add other com- 
panies to the said regiment, and, if necessary, increase the pay of the 
officers and men in the same, agreeable to such orders as have been 
given for that purpose by General Washington, and that he be required 
forthwith to transmit a copy of such orders to Congress. 

That if the exigency of the service makes it necessary to employ, 
at any time or place, more artificers than the commissary may have 
enlisted or can enlist, then he, his deputies or assistants, may engage 
them, for the time of such necessit}', on the most reasonable terms 
possible, with the approbation of the Board of War and Ordnance. 

Resolved^ That Col. Flower receive the pay and rations of a colonel 
from the 16th of July, 1770, to this Uth day of February, 1778. 

• Rt'Holved, That a commission of captain in Col. Flower's regiment of 
artillery artificers be granted to Wollory Meng, dated the 1st of April, 
1777. 

That Captain-Lieutenant Thomas Wylie be promoted to the rank of 
captain of an additional company to be raised in the said regiment of 
arrillerv artificers, his commission to be dated the 1st of Februarj^ 1778. 

Resolved^ That the Board of War and Ordnance be empowered to 
make a contract with Mr. Byers, as superintendent of a foundery of 
brass cannon. 

March 19, 1778. 

Remlved, That it be recommended to each State to appoint some 
suitable person or persons to get made with all possible despatch as 
many complete sets of accoutrements and spare bayonet sheaths as 



554 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

shall be sufficient for their re,speetive quotas of troops; the cartridge 
boxes to be made to hold at least 29 rounds of cartridges when made^ 
up with ounce balls, and the cover of good substantial leather with a 
small cover or flap under it that the amnumition may be most effectually 
guarded against rain; and to prevent impositions from the workmen, 
that proper inspectors be appointed to examine and receive the accou- 
trements, with orders to reject such as are bad and insufficient, and 
that the accoutrements so provided be sent forward with the troops, 
or as soon after as possible. 

That in case in any State they have quantities of tin, instead of the 
cartouch boxes, an equal number of tin cartridge canisters be furnished 
agreeably to a pattern or description to be sent to the Board of War. 

April 4, 1778. 

Resolved,, That Daniel and Samuel Hughes, of the State of Mary- 
land, shall not be held to make aiiy more cannon on their present 
contract; 

-X- * * 

That the Board of War and Ordnance be authorized to enter into a 
contract with Messrs. Daniel and Samuel Hughes for such a number 
of battering cannon and mortars, and such quantitj^ of shot and shells 
as they shall deem necessary for the public service. 

April 18, 1778. 

Resolved, That the Board of War be directed to make a strict inquiry 
into the mode in which the armourer's department has been hitherto 
conducted and report to Congress the residt of their inquiry, and, if 
they judge necessary, to dismiss the persons who have been hitherto 
employed in that business and to engage others in their stead on the 
best terms possible. 

April 23, 1778. 

A letter of the 21st from the Board of War was read wherein they 
inform that . . . they have dismissed Mr. Butler, the former 
public armourer, and appointed William Henry, esq., of Lancaster, 
superintendent of arms and military accoutrements. 

Resolved, That Congress approve the proceedings of the Board of 
War and confirm their appointment. 

May 7, 1778. 

The Board of War having recommended Nathaniel Chapman, esq., 
to be captain of the additional company to Colonel Flower's regiment 
of artillery artificers; John Jordan, esq., to be captain in the room of 
David Pancoast, resigned; and Henry Strape and Theophilus Parks, 
lieutenants in the same corps; 

Resolved, That they be appointed and that commissions be granted 
to them accordingly. 



THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 555 

June 10, 177S. 

Resohied, That Governor Henry be requested to purchase for the 
United States the articles contained in the list hereto annexed, being 
part of the cargo of the French ship Le Fier Roderique, as cheap as he 
can, not exceeding the price following, viz, £4:50 Virginia money for 
every £100 sterling, to be paid in tobacco at 10 dollars per hundred, 
and that a letter be written to his excellency explaining the principle 
of such limitation. 

LIST OF ARTICLES, 

Leaden bullets of different sizes; . . . gunpowder; flints; 

June 20, 1778. — Cornelius Sweers, deputy commissary -general of military stores, 
was arrested June 20, pending examination of the charge of fraud made against him 
and was committed to jail August 1, and on the 24th of the month the Board of 
Treasury was directed to employ counsel to prosecute him. 

August 3, 1778. — Colonel Benjamin Flower, Commissary-General of Military Stores, 
was arrested on charges of malfeasance in office, prepared by Cornelius Sweers, late 
deputy commissary, but was honorably acquitted by Congress August 24, 1778. 

January 2, 1779. 

The committee to whom was referred the memorial of Messrs. Penet 
and Couloux, respecting a manufactoiy of tirearms, report: 

"That the said Messrs. Penet and Couloux propose to establish a 
manufactory for making firearms, side arms, etc., of all kinds, in 
some convenient place in one of the United States, if they can have 
proper encouragement from Congress; that they are willing to contract 
to make and deliver 100,000 muskets with bayonets of the best kind, 
completely finished, at the price of 26i livres apiece, to be paid in 
specie or other currency equivalent; that they will deliver 20,000 of 
the said arms by the expiration of two years and an half, and the resi- 
due within the term of six or seven years from the time of contract- 
ing; or, if the whole number of muskets are not wanted, they will 
agree to make any other kind of firearms or side arms in lieu thereof, 
they to find all materials and be at the whole expense of making the 
arms." 

The committee further report: 

"That in their opinion it will be beneficial to these States to have 
such a manufactory established, and that the terms proposed are 
reasonable." 

Resolved., That the Board of War be authorized to contract with 
Messrs. Penet and Couloux for a suitable number of muskets, with 
bayonets of a proper size, and other arms, to be manufactured in these 
States, agreeable to the foregoing proposal. 

February 2, 1779. — The Board of War having reported that the firm of the house 
in which Mr. Penet is engaged is Messrs. Penet, Windel & Co. , and that Mr. Cou- 
loux' s name is not to appear in the agreement. Congress modified accordingly the 
above resolution. 

FJynuiry IS, 1779. 

Congress proceeded to consider the report of the committee appointed 
to confer with the Commander in Chief; and thereupon came to the 
following arrangement of the Department of Ordnance: 



556 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Resolved, That the commanding officer of artillery of the United 
States, for the time being, shall, under the general orders, and with 
the concurrence of the Commander in Chief, arrange and direct all 
business of the Ordnance Department necessary to be done in the field. 
The ordnance, arms, and military stores in the fixed magazines to be 
drawn out only by the orders of the Board of War and Ordnance; 
unless, in the course of the service, circumstances should occur in 
which the procuring such orders from the board would, in the opin- 
ion of the Commander in Chief and commanding officer of artillery, 
occasion improper delays; and in such cases the commanding officer 
of artillery shall have the power to draw from the nearest magazines 
the supplies wanted for the Army; and the different commissaries and 
directors of the magazines and laboratories shall in such cases imme- 
diately obejT^ the orders of the commanding officer of artillery, inform- 
ing the Board of War and Ordnance of the same. And that the 
Commander in Chief and conmianding officer of artillery may know 
in such cases where to send for necessary supplies, the Board of War 
and Ordnance shall cause monthly returns of all ordnance, arms, and 
military stores at the magazines and arsenals of the United States to 
be made to the Commander in Chief, who will communicate to the com- 
manding officer of artillery the whole or any part of them, as he shall 
judge the good of the service requires. And as it may frequently 
happen that parts of the Army maj^ be detached to such distances as 
to render their obtaining supplies, in the circumstances above men- 
tioned, by the immediate ordeis of the Commander in Chief and com- 
manding officer of artillery inconvenient, in such cases the Commander 
in Chief and commanding officer of artillerj^ shall give to the com- 
manding officer of the detachment, and of the artillery annexed to it, 
proper directions for furnishing the detachment with the necessary 
supplies of ordnance, arms, and military stores; and the orders of the 
said commanding officers of the detachment, and of the artillery 
annexed to it, given pursuant to the said directions, shall be obeyed 
by the commissaries and directors at the magazines and laboratories, 
as if given immediately by the Commander in Chief and commanding 
officer of artillery of the United States. Each commanding officer of 
artiller}^ making these extraordinary draughts shall immediately give 
information thereof, and of the occasion of them, to the Board of War 
and Ordnance. 

2. That there shall be a field commissary of military stores, to be 
appointed by the Board of War and Ordnance, who shall receive and 
issue all ordnance, arms, and military stores in the field pursuant to 
orders of the Commander in Chief and commanding officer of artillery; 
all orders for this purpose from the Commander in Chief to l)e directed 
to the commanding officer of artillery. The field commissary shall 
have so many deputies, conductors, and clerks, to be likewise appointed 
by the Board of War and Ordnance, as, in the opinion of the board, 
the Commander in Chief, and connuanding officer of artillery, the 
service shall from time to time require. 

3. The commanding officer of artillery , with the concurrence of the 
Commander in Chief, shall from time to time lay before the Board of 
War and Ordnance proper estimates (which are by the board to be 
transmitted to Congress) of all ordnance, arms, and military stores 
necessary to be made and provided for the use of the Army of the 
United States, that the necessary orders may be given concerning them. 

4. That whenever the said commanding officer of artillery shall judge 



THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 557 

any particular directions necessary for, or alterations and improve- 
ments to be made in, the construction or prepaiation of ordnance, 
arms, and military stores of any kind, he shall comnuinicate the same 
to the Board of War and Ordnance for their consideration, who shall 
thereupon give such orders for the artificers and laboratory men as 
they shall judge the good of the service requires. 

5. That the tield conunissary of military stores, his deputies, con- 
ductors, and clerks, shall be independent of the Commissary-General 
of militar}' sto/es; and the said field commissary shall make monthly 
returns of all ordnance, arms, and military stores received, issued, and 
remaining on hand to the Board of War and Ordnance, the Commander 
in Chief, and the commanding officer of artillery. His deputies and 
conductors also having the chief care of the military stores, with any 
detached parts of the Army, shall make the like returns to the Board 
of War and Ordnance, the respective officers commanding those detach- 
ments, their commanding officers of artillery, and the field commissary; 
and the latter shall draw the whole into one general return monthly, 
one copy whereof he shall transmit to the Board of War and Ordnance, 
one to the Commander in Chief, one to the commanding officer of artil- 
lery, and a fourth to the Commissary-General of military stores. 

6. That all moneys necessary for the department of the field com- 
missary of militar}^ stores shall be drawn out of the military chests 
by warrants from the Commander in Chief and officers commanding 
detached parts of the Army, respectively; and the accounts of expendi- 
tures adjusted and settled by the auditors of accounts, once in every 
three months, and finally transmitted to the Treasury Board. 

7. That when it shall be thought necessar}^ the commanding officer 
of artillery shall send officers of artillery to visit the laboratoi'ies, and 
founderies and manufactories, to the intent that they may thereby 
gain an insight into the mechanical branches of their profession. And 
such number of artillery officers as, in the opinion of the commanding 
officer of artillery, with the concurrence of the Commander in Chief, 
can be spared from their duty in the field shall, at every convenient 
season, be stationed at all or any of the principal laboratories, to be 
instructed in the laboratory art, that a knowledge thereof may be 
disseminated through the corps. 

8. That the deputy field commissaries and conductors shall apply 
for and receive all ordnance, arms, and stores issued from the field 
arsenals and magazines. And to prevent any that are insufficient 
being carried into the field, the said commissaries and conductors shall 
receive none apparently unfit for service. And whenever any articles 
in the Ordnance Department in the field shall be so damaged that they 
can not be there repaired, and are, by order of the commanding officer 
of artilleiT, with the Army, or with any detachment of it, sent to the 
Commissary-General of military stores, or any of his deputies, he and 
they shall receive the same, at such place as shall be most convenient, 
and either immediately cause them to be repaired or replace them with 
others tit for service, as shall be most conducive to the public interest. 

0. That the appointments of the said field commissary and his 
subordinate officer be as follows, viz: 

Pay per month. Subsist, per month. Rations per day. 

Of the field commissary 75 dollars. 40 dollars. 1 

Deputy field commissary 60 30 1 

Conductor 40 10 1 

Clerk 40 10 1 



558 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENEEaL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

10. That there shall be one surveyor of ordnance, to be appointed 
annually from the colonels, the appointment to be made by the Board 
of War and Ordnance, until Congress shall direct otherwise. The 
officer thus appointed shall retain his rank in the artillery and all the 
benefits arising from it; but during the time of his survey orship he 
shall not, except in extraordinary cases, or when called for by the 
Commander in Chief, perform any duty in the line. His duty as sur- 
veyor shall be to examine into the construction, qualities, and condi- 
tion of all cannon, carriages, arms, and the materials for and prepa- 
ration of every species of warlike stores, and to visit all the different 
arsenals, founderies, laboratories, and workshops belonging to the 
Ordnance Department of the United States, carefully noting every 
error and defect he shall discover; which, together with a general 
state of the department, he shall report immediately to the Board of 
War and Ordnance, as well as the commanding officer of the artillery, 
with his ideas of any alterations and improvements proper to be made 
thereon. He shall also examine all ordnance and military stores in 
the field, and report the state of them to the commanding officer of 
artillery and the Board of War and Ordnance; and for the purposes 
aforesaid the commissaries of military stores, as well in the field as 
elsewhere, shall make returns to the said surveyor, and shall expose 
to his view all the ordnance, arms, and stores, and all materials for 
the Ordnance Department in their custody. And the surveyor shall 
examine the said stores to ascertain whether the quality, quantity, and 
numbers agree with the return, and make report to the board only. 
He shall likewise examine into the number of workmen emploj^ed in 
each branch of the Ordnance Department, and the principal in each 
branch shall make monthly returns of all work done within the month, 
one to the said surveyor of ordnance and one to the Commissary- 
General of Military Stores; and each of the latter shall transmit copies 
thereof monthly to the Board of War and Ordnance. 

11. For executing the duties before mentioned and any others relat- 
ing to the Ordnance Department which the good of the service may 
from time to time require, the Board of War and Ordnance shall give 
to the said surveyor such instructions as they shall think proper. 

12. For defraying the expenses of the said surveyor in the exercise 
of his office he shall be allowed 70 dollars per month, besides his 
appointments as a field officer of artillery. 

13. That the commanding officer of artillery of the United States, 
for the performance of his duties therein before prescribed, shall be 
allowed 75 dollars per month; and the commanding officer of artillery 
with an^' detached part of the Army shall have a like allowance, in 
proportion to his pa}^ in the line. 

March 16, 1779. 

Resolved, That all warrant officers in the civil staff of the Army be 
put on the same footing with commissioned officers in respect to 
arrests, trials, and punishments. 

April 13, 1779. 

Resolved, That the State of Virginia be requested to lend to the 
United States 1,000 stand of arms for the purpose of arming the forces 
destined for the defense of South Carolina and Georgia; . 



THE OKDNANCE DEPAETMENT. 559 

April 27, 1779. — "For the future all issues of arms and military stores in camp will 
be made by the immediate order of Brigadier-General Knox, to whom all returns for 
that purpose are to be made. He will cause the Commissary of Military Stores to 
keep exact accounts with the regiments for what he delivers. ' ' ( Orders, General Head- 
quarters, Middle- Brook. ) 

May 19, 1779. — "A conductor of military stores is to be appointed to each brigade, 
— he is to have a travelling forge with suitable tools, an ammunition waggon, and a 
waggon with an arm chest for each regiment." {Orders, General Headquarters, Middle- 
Brook.) 

Julys, 1779. — Captain Alexander Henderson, deputy commissary of military stores, 
resigned. 

July 23, 1779. — The resignation of Lieut. Andrew Caldwell, of Captain Cowan's 
company of laboratory artillerymen, was accepted. 

December 21, 1779. 

Resolved, That commissions be granted to the officers of the com- 
pany of artillery artificers attached to the artiller}^ in the field, and 
bear date as follows, viz: That of Noah Nichols, captain, November 16, 
1776; Thomas Patten, captain-lieutenant, March 1, 1779; Bela Nichols, 
first lieutenant. March 1, 1779; Peter Sears, second lieutenant, March 
1, 1779. 

December 23, 1779. 

Resolved, That instead of the subsistence allowed by an act of Con- 
gress of the 18th day of February last, to the officers in the depart- 
ment of the field commissary of military stores, the following- sums 
be allowed, viz: To the field commissary^ 400 dollars per month; to a 
deputy field commissary, 300 dollars; to a conductor. 100 dollars; to a 
clerk, 1()0 dollars; and that this increased subsistence commence on 
the 18th day of August last, and continue till the further order of 
Congress. 

Febrxmry 11, 1780. 

A letter of the 9th from the Board of War, informing that they had 
appointed Samuel Hodgdon, the principal field commissary of military 
stores, to be deputy commissary-general of military stores, and pro- 
posing that his pay should be 1,250 dollars per month; whereitpon. 

Resolved, That the pay of Samuel Hodgdon, deputy commissary- 
general of militar}' stores, be 1,250 dollars per month until the further 
order of Congress. 

July 13, 1780. — Lieutenant Dow, of Colonel Flower's regiment of artillery artificers, 
promoted captain-lieutenant to date from April 4, 1780, the date when Captain- 
Lieutenant Parks was dismissed. 

July 15, 1780. 

Resolved, That the following proportion of wagons and bathorses be 
allowed to the different ranks of officers, and no more, unless it be by 
order of the Commander in Chief or commanding officer of a separate 
army, each of whom to be allowed for themselves so many baggage 
wagons and bathorses as they may think necessar}-. to wit: ■ 
* * * 

Field commissary of military stores and his deputy with the main 
armv, 1 two-horse wasfon or two bathorses. 



560 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Deputy commissary of military stores with a separate army, 1 two- 
horse wagon or two bathorses. 

* * * 

Resolved,, That in addition . . . there be issued ... as 
many rations as the service shall require: 

; field commissary of military stores, two; deputy field 
commissary of military stores, one; . 

July H. 1780. 

Resolved., That the Board of War and Ordnance be authorized and 
directed to procure with all possible despatch 615 tons of shot for bat- 
tering cannon, and 947 tons of shells, of such sizes as they shall deem 
proper, according to the requisitions made by the Commander in Chief. 

July 26, 1780. 

Resolved., That Ezekiel Cheever, esq., and Lieutenant-Colonel David 
Mason, who have been cmplo3^ed at Springfield, in the State of Massa- 
chusetts Ba}^ in the department of the commissary -general of military 
stores, be excused from further service at that post; 

That the Board of War and Ordnance be authorized and directed to 
remove any unnecessary officers at that and any other post in the 
department of the conuuissary -general of military stores, and toai'range 
the afl:airs of the whole department in such manner as they shall deem 
most conducive to the public service, reporting their proceedings to 
Congress. 

August 1'2, 1780. 

The Board of War report: 

That, pursuant to a resolution of July 26th, they have enquired into 
the state of the department of military stores; and upon mature delib- 
eration propose to retain in service one commissary-general of mili- 
tary stores, one deputy commissary-general, one commissary at Spring- 
field, one commissary at Carlisle, one commissary in Virginia, and two 
or three other commissaries, or deputy commissaries, at some subor- 
dinate posts and stations; 

They also propose to retain but one officer to each company of artifi- 
cers, who, with his sergeants, will be competent to the proper direction 
of his men; 

That the pay of a commissary of military stores be not less than 360 
nor more than 1,750 dollars per month; 

That the pay of a deputy commissary, or a conductor of military 
stores, be not less than 240 nor more than 1,<)0() dollars per month; 

That the pay of the clerks be fixed by the Board of War and Ord- 
nance in proportion to their respective merit and services; 

That the pay of a captain of artillery artificers be 900 dollars per 
month; a captain-lieutenant, 750 dollars per month; a lieutenant, 600 
dollars per month; a sergeant, from 150 to 200 dollars per month; a 
corporal, acting as a foreman in any branch of work, the same pay as 
a sergeant; 

Other corporals and druunuers, fifers, and privates, from 30 to 150 
dollars per month; 

That the pay of the conmiissaries, deputy commissaries, and conduct- 



THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT, 561 

ors, to be coniined within the iiinits before mentioned, be tixed accord- 
ing' to their respective merit and services b}- the Board of War and 
Ordnance; 

That the pay of the noncommissioned officers and privates be fixed 
according- to their respective merit and services, within the limits before 
UKMitioned, b}- the major part of their commissioned officers, who shall 
HKM^t together monthly for that purpose; 

That a (hiily ration of forage be allowed only to such commissaries 
and conductors of military stores whose frequent traveling shall, in the 
opinion of the Board of War, require the same. 

liesoln^d ^ That Congrc^ss agree to this report, and that the same be 
carried into execution until the further order of Congress. 
* * -x- 

Augiist 22, 1780. 

Whereas, it is of the utmost importance effectually to prevent the 
destruction, waste, embezzlement, and misapplication of the public 
stores, . . . upon which the existence of the armies of these United 
States may depend, and no adequate provision hath ]>een made for the 
just punishment of delinquents in the departments of the . . . Com- 
missary-General of military stores, . . . Therefore, 

Remlved, That every person in any of the said departments intrusted 
with the care of provisions, or military or hospital stores, or other 
property of these United States, who shall be convicted, at a general 
court-martial, of having sold, without a proper order for that purpose, 
eml)ezzled, or wilfully misapplied, damaged, or spoiled any of the pro- 
visions, horses, forage, arms, clothing, ammunition, or other military 
or hospital stores, or property belonging to the United States of Amer- 
ica, shall suffer death or such other punishment as shall be directed 
by a general court-martial, according to the natui'e and degree of the 
offence, at the discretion of such court; and every person in any of 
the .said departments, intrusted as aforesaid, who shall be convicted at 
a general court-martial of having, through neglect, suffered any of the 
articles aforesaid to be wasted, spoiled, or damaged shall suffer such 
punishment as the said court shall, in their discretion, direct, accord- 
ing to the degree of the offence. 

August 30, 1780. 

ReHolved, That Major Joseph Eayres and Captain Nathaniel Chap- 
man, who have been employed at Springfield, in the department of 
the commissary -general of military stores; JVlajor Charles Lukens, 
at Carlisle, and Captain-Lieutenant E. Godfrey, at Philadelphia, be 
excused from further service. 

Octoh'i' 3, 1780. 

Resolved, . . . That the Regular Army of the United States, 
from and after th(> first day of Januar}^ next, consist of ... 1 
regiment of artificers; 

-X- -x- -X- 

Thut the regiment of artificers consist of S companies, and each 
company of 60 noncommissioned ofiiccrs and privates. 

S. Doc. 229 86 



562 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

That the several States furnish the following ([uotas, viz, . . . 
Pennsylvania ... 1 regiment of artificers; . . . 

October 13, 17S0. — The issuing commissaries are to deliver all their sheep and calve 
skins to the lield commissary of militarj' stores with the park of artillery, who will 
have them properly dressed for drumheads." ( Orders, General Headquarters, Totowa. ) 

November '25, 1780. 

Resolved, That all the artificers in the department of military stores 
in Pennsylvania be removed to Carlisle; and that in future only an 
issuing store and elaboratory for fixed ammunition be kept in Phila- 
delphia. 

That General Washington detach a field officer of artillery to take 
the conmiand and superintend the business at Carlisle, and under the 
orders of the Board of War. 

January S, 17S1. — Congress accepted the resignation of Lieut. Henry Stroop, of 
Colonel Flower's regiment of artificers. 

January 12, 1781. 

Besolved, That from and after the 1st day of August last the pay 
and appointments of the officers in the Department of the commissary- 
general of military stores be as follows, the sums hereafter mentioned 
to be paid in bills of the new emission, and all moneys received in bills 
of the old emissions since the said 1st day of August be ac^counted for 
agreeable to the table of depreciation, as fixed by the Board of Treas- 
ury; Commissary-General of Military Stores, 100 dollars per month, 3 
rations per day; deputy commissary-general, 80 dollars per month, 2 
rations per day; connnissaries, 70 dollars per month, 2 rations per 
day; deputy commissaries, 55 dollars per month, 2 rations per day; 
conductors, 45 dollars per month, 1 ration per day; clerks, 40 dollars 
per month, 1 ration per day. 

No rations in addition to the number above mentioned arc to be 
allowed for servants; 

That the officers and men of the regiment of artillery artificers have 
the same pay from and after the said first day of August in bills of 
the new emission as was originall}' fixed in l)ills of the then emission, 
])y the regulations of the department made l)y Congress on the 11th 
day of February, 1778, and that they draw the number of rations then 
directed. 

That the appointments of the field commissary of military stores 
and his subordinate officers be as follows, from and after the 1st day 
of August last, the pa}^ to be received in bills of the new emission: 
Field commissary, DO dollars per month, 2 rations per day, servants 
included; deputy field commissary, 70 dollars per month, 2 rations per 
da}', servants included; conductor, 45 dollars per month, 1 ration per 
day, servants included; clerks, 40 dollars per month, 1 ration per day, 
servants included. 

That the commanding ofticer of artillery, for his extra services in 
the affairs of the Ordnance Department, receive 40 dollars per month, 
in addition to his pay as an officer in the line, in bills of the new emis- 
sion, from and after the 1st day of August last. 

That the surveyor of ordnance, for defraying his expenses in the 
exercise of his office, be allowed, from and after the 1st day of August 
last, 40 dollars per month, in bills of the new emission, besides his 
appointment as a field officer of artillery. 



THE OKDNANCE DEPAKTMENT. 563 

Janua7'y 31^ 1781. 

Resolved., That the commissary-general of military stores, or first 
ofiicor in that department, be, and hereby is, allowed, from and after 
the first day of August last, 115 dollars a month, in bills emitted pur- 
suant to the act of the 18th of March last; and that the deputy com- 
missary, or second officer in that department, be, and hereby is, 
allowed, from the said first day of August, the sum of 90 dollars per 
month, in the bills aforesaid, in lieu of the sums allowed them, respec- 
tively, by the resolution of the 12th instant. 

Fehruary 20, 1781. 

Resolved, That the Board of War be, and hereby arc, directed to fur- 
nish the Southern army with . . . 5,000 nuiskets, with bayonet 
and cartouch boxes; ... 10 tons of musket powder, 5 tons of 
cannon powder, and 20 tons of lead. 

That the Board of War furnish the artillery and cavalry with the 
lecessar}^ ammunition and equipments not comprised in the foregoing 
resolutions; and that they employ a suflicient number of artificers to 
repair the arms in the magazines of Virginia and other places. 

February 26, 1781. — Congress recommended to the State of Massachusetts to make 
up to Colonel Gridley the depreciation of his pay as engineer at $60 per month from 
the time of his appointment to tlie 1st day of January, 1781. [Colonel Gridley was 
colonel of the Massachusetts artillery regiment May, 1775; wounded at Bunker Hill 
June 17, 1775; colonel and chief of the Continental Artillery September 20 to Novem- 
l)er 17, 1775; colonel and Chief Engineer June, 1775, to August 5, 1776; was retained 
in service as colonel and engineer to January 1, 1781, when lie was retired. He died 
June 21, 1786.] 

March 5, 1781. — Congress accepted resignation of Nathaniel Barber, commissary of 
military stores at Boston. 

March 7, 1781. — A letter of the 6th from the Board of "War inclosed a letter of May 
•20, 1780, from Messrs. Penet & Co., from which it appeared that their contract for 
manufacturing arms is entirely at an end from a failure on their part. 

March 29, 1781. 

Remlmd, That the regiment of artificers, commanded l)v Colonel 
Baldwin, be dissolved; and those of the noncommissioned officers and 
privates whose times of service are unexpired, and are now with the 
main army, be formed into one company, under such officers and be 
employed in such wa}" as the Commander in Chief shall direct. 

That the artificers with the Southern army be also formed into one 
company, under a competent number of officers to be selected by the 
commanding general of that army. 

That all officers of the regiment of artificers not retained by virtue 
of these resolutions be no longer considered in the service of the 
United States. 

Resolved., That all the noncommissioned officers and men of the 
reoiiiient of artillery artificers at Carlisle, whose times of service are 
unexpired, be formed into one or more company or companies, and 
th(>, officers at that place, except Captains Wiley and Jordan, be no 
longer considered in the service of the United States. 

April 21. 1781. 

Resolved, That the superintendent of finance l)e, and he is hereby, 
authorized to remove from ollice or employment, for incapacity, neg- 
ligence, dishonesty, or other misbehavior, such persons not immedi- 



564 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

atel}^ appointed by the United States in Congress assembled as are or 
may be officially entrusted with and immediately employed in the 
expenditure of the public supplies, stores, or otiier property; . . . 
and such of the said persons as are or ma}' be, in his judgment, 
unnecessary, reporting to such authority, board, minister, or office, 
to whom it may l)elong to supply the vacancy, the respective names 
of the persons so removed. 

That he be authorized to suspend from office or employment, for 
similar causes, persons officially employed and entrusted as aforesaid, 
immediately appointed b}^ the United States in Congress assembled, 
reporting forthwith their names and the reason of suspension. 

Pnifidcd^ That in all cases where any of the persons aforesaid are 
or may be amenable to the law martial the superint(Mident be, and he 
is hereby, authorized and directed, if he shall deem it most expedient 
for the public service, to put them in arrest by order in writing, and 
to apply to the officer whose duty it may be to order a court-martial; 
and such officer is hereby directed to order proceedings on the arrest 
accordingly. 

That in every case of suspension all pay and emoluments cease from 
the date thereof unless the persons suspended be, upon trial, ac((uitted 
and restored; and the superintendent shall have power to supply the 
place when it may be necessary, by a temporar}" appointment, to con- 
tinue until th(i person suspended be restored or dismissed. 

That the aforesaid powders shall not be construed to interfere with, 
the rank, commission, or military duty of any officer in the line of the 
Army, or those who may be dul}" entrusted with money for secret service 
by Congress, or the Commander in Chief of the Army, or commanding 
officer of a separate department. 

That the powers aforesaid l)e exercised during the pleasure of Con- 
gress, but not to extend beyond the duration of the war. 
* -x- * 

Ordered^ . . . That the said E. Cornell [one of the commission- 
ers of the Board of War] be, and he is hereby, directed to visit the mil- 
itary stores and laborator}' to the eastward, in the department of the 
commissary of military stores, and to take measures for removing 
arms, ammunition, and stores from thence to the main army, or to the 
southward; and to correct abuses in the said department, agreebly to 
instructions he may receive from the Board of War for these purposes. 

Mu\i 2, 1781. — Place of Commissary-General of Military Stores vacated by death of 
Colonel Flower. 

June 1<S\ 17 HI. 

Resolved, . . . That the Commander in Chief and the command- 
ing general in a separate department, respectively, be, and hereb}^ are, 
authorized to direct what clothing shall, from time to time, be dealt 
out to the artilicers . . . , having regard to the nature of their 
service and the terms of their contract, and time for which the}' are 
engaged. 

July 10, 17S1. 

Resolved, That the superintendent of finance be, and he is hereby, 
authorized, either by himself or such pin-son or persons as he shall, 
from time to time, appoint for the purpose, to procure or contract all 
necessary supplies for the use of the Array or armies of the United 
States, . . . and also the transportation thereof; . . . 



THE ORDNANCE DEPAKTMENT. 565 

JliUj 12, 1781. 

Congress proceedod to the election of a commissary-iLiciwM-al of mili- 
tary stores; and, the ballots being" taken, 

Samuel Hodgdon was elected, having been previously nominated by 
Mr. How ley. 

July 30, 1781, 

Revived, That the Board of War be, and they are herel)y, empow- 
ered to continue such of the officers in the laboratory and artificers at 
Springtield as the good of the service may require, and to remove all 
and every other officer in the laboratory or corps of artificers at that 
place, and proceed to make such further reforms in the department of 
the commissary of militar}^ stores at other posts as they judge may 
conduce to the pul)lic interest. 

Augmt 23, 1781. 

Rei^olved, That the Board of War and Ordnance be, and hereby are, 
authorized and directed to take measures for vacating the contract 
made l)y order of Congress the 19th day of September, 1777/ with 
James Byers, cannon founder. 

Septemhei' J^, 1781. 

Resolved, That all the . . . artillery, arms, and military stores 
shipped in pursuance of the orders of the Honorable John Laurence, 
special minister to the Court of Versailles, for the use of the United 
States, l)e upon its arrival delivered to the order of the Board of War, 
who are herein' empowered and directed to take charge and direction 
of the same. 

September 25, 1781. — "The several issuing commissaries will be particularly careful 
in preserving all the sheepskins for the use of the artillery. They will be delivered, 
on a]iplication, to Mr. Thomas Jones, deputy field commissary of military stores." 
( (Mlers, General Headquarters, Williamsburg. ) 

January 10, 1782. 

Resolved, . . . The Inspector-General, or inspector-general of 
a separate armv, shall be authorized to call on the . . .^ field com- 
missary of military stores, or their deputies, for returns of the articles 
which have been issued from and returned to their several departments 
by each corps. . . . 

Awi^ 10, 1782. 

Rrxnlnd. . . . That the Commander in Chief be furnished with 
r.'lufiis of ordnance and ordnance stores when he shall request them 

from the War Office. 

w * * 

I'hat the Secretary at War direct the building and management of 
hiboi-atories, arsenals, foundries, magazines, . . . the necessity 
of wiiich he is from time to time to report, and the same is to be 
approved of by Congress. 

' Congress was not in session September 19, 1777, but February 11, 1778, the Board 
of War was authorized to make a contract with Mr. Byers. December 20, 1783, he 
offered to relinquish ids contract, wiiich iie (styled director of tlie foundry for cast- 
ing brass ordnance) fornudiy reiin(iuisiied April 13, 1785. 



506 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

A^il m, 1782. 

Resolved.! That from and after the first day of May next all resolves 
of Congress heretofore passed relative to rations, subsistence, or allow- 
ances to officers over and above their pay and what they are entitled 
to from the Quartermaster's Department . . . be, and they are 
hereby, repealed; that from and after the first day of May next each 
oflicer shall l)e entitled to draw daily the number of rations . . . 
aflixed to their several ranks, viz: 

* * * 

Field commissary 1 ration per day; 6|§ dollars per month. 

Do., Southern army. 1 do ; 6|f do. 

April 23, 1782. 

Resolved, . . . That the supernumerary junior lieutenants, 
beyond the number of ten in each regiment of infantry, be reduced; 
. . . except such of them as shall accept of appointments in the 
stafi" departments, with the approbation of the heads of the respective 
departments, in which case they shall severally retain their respective 
ranks in the Army, and be entitled to the full pay and subsistence 
l)elongino- to their rank in the line, as a compensation for their re.^ec- 
tive services in the stall' without any other allowance whatsoever; . . . 

Maij 7, 1782. 

Resolved, That the superintendent of finance be, and hereby is, 
authorized to appoint an inspector for the main and Southern army, 
to take care that the contracts for supplying rations be duly executed 
by the contractors; that the said inspectors shall also be, and they are 
hereby, fidly empowered and directed to attend to the expenditures of 
public property in the several departments of the Army, and report 
any fraud, neglect of duty, or other misconduct by which the public 
property is wasted, or expense unnecessarily accumulated, so that the 
party charged therewith may be tried by court-martial on such charges 
exhibited against him by either of the said inspectors; and that neither 
the said inspectors nor the said contractors, or their property, be lia- 
ble to arrest or subject to martial law, except by the express order of 
the Commander in Chief, or commander of the army to which the 
inspectors respectively shall be appointed, any resolution or act of 
Congress heretofore made notwithstanding. 

That the pay to each inspector be 166f dollars per month in full of 
all allowances. 

That each inspector, when appointed, shall take an oath for the 
faithful and impartial execution of the trust reposed in him as inspec- 
tor of the contracts of the Army. 

May 30, 1182. — The Superintendent of Finance and the Secretary at War were 
directed to in(jnire into a contract made with Mr. Jacob Rnl)sanien for the purpose 
of instructing the people of Virginia in the mode of making saltpeter, and whether 
his further services were necessary. August 26, 1782, Congress agreed that Mr. R.'s 
services as instructor were no longer needed. 

July 4, 1782. — "To ]>revent the accidental communication of fire to the po^yder mag- 
azines, which would endanger the lives of many persons and total demolition of the 
fortiticatioUH, besides the inconvenience that nuist arise from the loss of the powder, 
the Conunantler in Chief directs that the quartermaster or commissary of military 



THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 567 

stores may, as soon as possible, have grates fixed to the air holes of the magazines, 
and that lanthoiiis made of transparent horn or glass be immediately provided 
instead of thosi> made of pierced tin, which are at present very imprudently used. 
Until the horn or glass lanthorns are provided the greatest care is to l)e taken not to 
open the door of the lanthorns in the magazines, and at all times to have water in 
the bottom to extinguish sparks. It is, moreover, positively ordered that no person 
whatever be permitted to enter a powder magazine without first pulling off his 
shoes. — {Orders, (leiieral Headquarters, Newburgh.) 

Jxily ^Ip, 1789.. 

Resolved., That the act of Cong-ress of the 11th day of Februarv, 
1778, and all subsequent resolutions, so far as the\' respect the depart- 
ment of the commissary -general of military stores, be, and the^ are 
hereby, repealed. 

Resolved., That the Secretary at War be, and he is hereby, empow- 
ered to appoint, from time to time, a commissary of military stores, 
who shall be subject to his orders and instructions, and shall receive 
a salary of 1,000 dollars per annum. 

That the Secretary at War be further empowered to appoint, from 
time to tim3, so many officers, to be taken from the officers of the 
Army, if agreeable to them, as he may tind necessary to superintend 
the business in that department. 

September 3, 178£. 

Resolved., That all resolutions heretofore passed respecting the pay 
and emoluments of the field commissary of military stores, his deputies, 
conductors, and clerks, be, and they are hereby, repealed. 

Resolved, That the pay and emoluments of the field commissary of 
military stores shall be 50 dollars per month, two rations per day, for- 
age for two saddle horses, and one bathorse. He shall also be allowed 
6|- dollars per month for a servant, for whom he siiall l)e entitled to draw 
one ration per day and the clothing allowed to a private soldier. 

That the pav and emoluments of a deputy held commissary of mili- 
tary stores for the southern army shall be 40 dollars per month, two 
rations per day, forage for two saddle horses, and one bathorse. He 
shall also be allowed Of dollars per month for a servant, for whom he 
shall be entitled to draw one ration per day and the clothing allowed 
to a private soldier. 

Rt'solred, That the pay and emoluments of the deputy field commis- 
sary of military stores at West Point shall be -iO dollars per month 
and two rations per da3\ 

That the pay and emoluments of the conductors or clerks shall be 
30 dollars pei' month and one ration per day. 

Resolved, That there shall be one field coimnissary of m'litary stores 
and two conductors or clerks for the main army in the field; one deputy 
field commissary of military stores and two conductors or clerks for 
West Point; one deputy' field commissary of military stores and two 
conductors or clerks for the southern army; and one conductor for 
the i)()st at Fort Pitt, who shall be appointed by the commanding 
officer of the artillery, with the approbation of the Connuander in 
Chief; (excepting for the southern army, in which department the 
appointment shall be made by the connnanding officer of artillery there, 
with the approbation of tlie conunandmg officer of the department. 



r)()S LEOTSLATTVE TTrSTORY ('V (iKNEKAL STAFF OF tT. R. ARMY. 

S< ptcnibi'v 17, J7<SL\ — " Maj<>r-(ieneral Knox having ajipointcd Richard Frotliin<r- 
liain, lield coins'y of military stores for tlio niain army; Asa ('o))elaii(l, coiidiu-tor; 
,loiin Iloff, clerk; John Knddock, dcymty conis'y at West Point; John Jianks, con- 
ductor; A\'illiani ilerriott, clerk; Mathew Parvin, conductor at Fort Pitt, the Coui- 
inauder in Chief is pleased to approve the above ai)pointuients." ( O/v/rrx, (Iciural 
IIi(i(l(ji(arterii, Verplank^i^ J'olnt.) 

>s,jjt(')nber 23, 1782. — "The brigade conductors of military stores having l)een 
deranged by the late orders of C'ongress, the stores, wagons, forges, tools, etc., in 
their possession are to be delivered to the brigade quartermasters, who are. in future 
to be responsible for this duty. A sergeant from each l)rigade must be appointed to 
have the special charge of the forges and stores, and to act under the orders of the 
brigade <|uartermasters. When any arms, annnunition, or accoutrements are wanting, 
regimental returns in the manner prescrilied in the regulations are to be made to the 
brigade (|uarfi'rmasters, who will form them intoabrigade, return and obtain the signa- 
ture of the connnanding otlicer of brigade and the insi)ector-General or inspector." 
{Orders, General Headqnurd'rs, Veriilank^ roiitl.) 

Resolved., . . . That tho followino' 1)0, tho proportion of wacrons 
and bathorses to tli(> diffefcnt ranks of otticors. . . . : 

•X- * -x- 

Field commi,s.sary of military stoivs and his dopiity with tlu> main 
and southern army, each one bathorsc. 

-X- -x- * 

That th(n"e shall be allowed for saddle horses: 

•X- * * 

Field commissary of military stores 2 rations. 

Deputy with a separate army 2 do. 

* x- * 

Ajjril 17, 1783. 

Resolved., That immediate measures be taken for the sale of . . . 
all such articles in the several military departments as may not be 
necessary for th(^ us(^ of the Army, previous to its reduction, or for 
the formation of maoazin(»s on a peace establishment. 

JVovember J^, 1783. 

Resolved., That Saumel Hodo-don, commissary of military stores, 
under the appointment of the Secretary at War, be continued in that 
office until tiie further order of C'ong-ress, and that he be em])ower(>d 
to continue such assistants as may be necessary to take care of the 
military stores. 

Note. — July 24, 17S2, the Secretary at War was authoii/.ed to apj)oint a counnis- 
sary of military stores. 

Jiiinoiri/%2, 178Jf. 

Ordered, That the connuissary of military stores be directed not to 
dispose of any such stores without the express order of Congress. 

JiiinKirij )i9, r78.lf. 

Resolved, That reoular returns of military stores . . . be made 
to the war office. 

* •::■ * 



TIIK ORDNANCE DEPAKTMKNT. 5()9 

Rrsolrcd^ That tho, principals in the several de])artni('iits of . , . 
coinmissary of military .stones . . . be, and they :ire hereby, 
oi'dered to transmit, as soon as may be, to the war ollice, to be laid 
l)(d"oi-e C'ono-i'ess, exact returns of all the stores in tlieii' respective 
de})artments, specif vino- the (juantity and quality of each article, where 
deposited, in whose care, and in what manner secured. 

'Jannanj 30^ 178Jf. 

Resolved., That th(^ supiM'intendent of linance propose to jVIr. fFames 
Byers, in behalf of the Tnited States, a mutual rcdiiuiuishmentof right 
and title to services and salary, and in case Mr. Byers shall not assent 
to the proposition, that the (-ommissary of military stores give him 
such directions as he is obliged to conform to by his contract. 

May 3, 178^. 

Resolved., That the commissary of military stores, or person havino- 
the care of the public stores at Carlisle, in Pennsylvania, be, and he is 
heivby, directed to deliver to th(» orchM- of th(> coi'poi'ation of the city 
of New York the bells which have been taken from tin* churches and 
other public editices in the said cit}^, if any such bells remain in his 
possession. 

Decemher 7, 1784. 

Resolved, That the Secretary in the war office be directed to stop the 
sale of such . . . military stores as were directed to be sold under 
a letter from the said Secretary of 28d May, 1784, until the further 
order of Congress. 

Septe))d)et' 6', 1785. 

Ordered, That the Secretary at War, as soon as may l)e, cause to be 
made and transmitted to Congress an exact return of all cannon, 
with their sizes and appendages; small arms with their accoutrements; 
swords, pistols, . . . anmumition . . . and pul)lic stores, 
. . . the custody of which is charged on the DepartnuMit of War; 
distinguishing th(> (luantity or number, quality and kind of (Mich, and 
the sevei'al places of their de])osits; and that he transmit a like return 
on the tirst Monday in fJanuary and the first Monday in July, annually. 

Octoher 2, 1788. 

The committee, consisting of Mr. Howard, Mr. Few, Mr. Dayton, 
Mr. (iilman, and Mr. Carrington, a])]K)inted to make full en<iuiry into 
the proceedings in the Department of ^^'ar, Ix^g leave to r(^]iort and to 
])res('nt to thi> view of Congress a sunnnary statement of the various 
branches of the l)(>})artment of War. 

•X- x- * 

!)th. Of the Ordnance DepaHment. — This branch of the Department 
of Wiir is important and interesting to the Union. 

The ordnance, arms, ammunition, and all the numerous appendages 
and c()m})lex apparatus belonging thereto, in possession of the United 
States, ai'c highly valuable and i'c([uire iin incessant attention to their 
preservation. 



570 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

The places where the}^ are depositocl are as follows: 

Providence, in Rhode Island. Philadelphia. 

Springheld, in Massachusetts. New London and Manchester, Vir- 

Mohawk River. ginia. 

West Point, on Hudson's River. Charleston, South Carolina. 

Besides which there are considerable quantities of shot and shells at 
the furnaces at which they were cast. The proportions at the respec- 
tive places are specified in the returns on the files of Congress. 

The principal arsenals are at Springfield, West Point, and Phila- 
delphia. 

The other places can be considered as only temporary accommoda- 
tions for the stores, which are to be removed as soon as permanent 
arsenals and magazines shall be decided on and provided by the United 
States. 

B}^ the information of the Secretary at War it appears that the stores 
are well accommodated at Springfield, in wooden buildings, except the 
magazine, which is an excellent one, built of brick at the public expense 
in 1782. 

That the powder and stores are well accommodated at West Point, 
although the buildings, being built of wood, and the materials unsea- 
soned, are going fast to decay. 

That the stores in Philadelphia are too much dispersed in difi^erent 
parts of the citv, and placed in buildings illy calculated for their 
reception. 

The establishment of proper and permanent arsenals and magazines 
is an object of high importance and demands the serious attention of 
the Government of the United States. But as the expense of erecting 
suitable buildings for this purpose will be great, it will perhaps be 
thought advisable to defer it for the present. 

The arras at Springfield are new and in excellent order, the Secre- 
tary at War having had the whole taken to pieces, cleaned, and placed 
in racks prepared for the purpose. 

About 5,000 arms have been repaired at West Point and are fit for 
immediate service. About 10,000 of the others are supposed to be 
worth repairing, and this necessary work is going on at that post on a 
small scale. To employ the number of workmen requisite to effect the 
business in one year would be too expensive for the public finances. 
These arms would probal)ly, on an average, cost about one dollar and 
a half each to put them in complete order. Between 4,000 and 5,000 
arms are in Virginia, the most of which require repairs. 

The new arms in Philadelphia are in such a state of repair as to need 
cleaning only. The Secretary at War has lieen constrained to defer 
this operation until a suitable building could be obtained or an arsenal 
erected in which so to deposit them that they can be kept easily in 
order. 

The powder at Springfield and West Point, which places include the 
greatest quantities in possession of the public, is in excellent order. 
Great attention has ])een annually paid to this article in having it aired, 
cleaned, proved, well packed, and also turned frequently. 

The brass cannon and mortars are and will remain fit for immediate 
service, Ijut it is to be remarked generally that no new carriages for the 
cannon or beds for the mortars have been made since the peace. At 
Springfield there are a nmuber of new cannon carriages which have 



THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 571 

never been in .service, and also at West Point there are a number fit 
for service, but in general the carriages which were left at the close 
of the war are too defective for use. 

This object will recjuire attention when the finances of the Union 
will admit of replacing the carriages, without which the cannon are of 
little service. 

The ordnance and military stores at the several arsenals under the 
charge of storekeepers or deputy commissaries of military stores at 
the following rates of pay: 

Springfield — One deputy commissary, at 40 dollars per month $480 

One assistant, 15 dollars per month 1 80 

Providence — One storekeeper, 8 ditto 9() 

West Point — One deputy commissary, at 40 dollars per month 480 

Fort llerkemer and the Mohawk River — One storekeeper, at 14 32/90 172 

Philadelphia — One commissar}' of military stores, at 41 64/90 per mo 500 

One assistant, 30 dollars per month 360 

New London and Manchester — One deputy commissary 480 

2,748 

There are also deput}" commissaries having the charge of the pu])lic 
property in South Carolina and at Carlisle, but they will soon be 
discharged. 

Ilcnts of hnild'mgx and West Point. 

For the buildings occupied in Philadelphia 752 60/90 

ditto in Virginia 350 

ditto for the post of West Point 400 

1,502 60/90 

On the esta])lishment of permanent arsenals, and the stores being 
collected together, the expenses arising at an}" other places will cease. 



STATUTES AT LARGE. 

Aef of May S, 1793 {1 Stats., 279). 
AN ACT making alterations hi the Treasury and War Departments. 

■X- * * 

Sec. 5. That all purchases and contracts for suppl^'ing the Army 
with . . . military stores, . . . and all other supplies or 
articles for the use of the Department of War, be made by or undei' 
the direction of the Treasury Department. 

* * * 

Act of March 20, 1794 (1 Stats., 3JtL). 

AN ACT to provide for the defence of certain posts and harbors in the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 2. That it shtdl be lawful for the President of the United States 
to . . . cause to be provided one hundred cannon, of a caliber 
each to carry a ball of thirty-two pounds weight, and one hundred 
other cannon of a caliber each to carry a ball of twenty-four pounds 



572 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENEEAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

weight, together with the carriages and implements necessary for the 
same, and carriages with the necessary implements for one hundred 
and tifty other cannon, with two hundred and lifty tons of cannon shot,' 



Act of April 3, 179 Jf. {1 Stats., 352). 

AN ACT to provide for the erecting and repairing of arsenals and magazines, and 

for other purposes. 

Sec. 1. That for the safe-keeping of the military stores there shall 
be established, under the direction of the President of the United 
States, three or four arsenals, with magazines, as he shall judge most 
expedient, in such places as will best accommodate the different parts 
of the United States. Either or both of the arsenals heretofore used 
at Springfield and Carlisle to be continued as part of the said nmnber, 
at his discretion: Pr<wided., That none of the said arsenals be erected 
until purchases of the land necessary for their accommodation be made, 
with the consent of the legislature of the State in which the same is 
intended to be erected. 

Sec. 2. That there shall be established at each of the aforesaid arse- 
nals a national armory, in which shall be employed one superintendent 
and one master armorer (who shall be appointed by the President of 
the United States), and as many workmen as the Secretary for the 
Department of War shall from time to time deem necessary, so that 
the whole number at all the armories shall not exceed one hundred; 
and the said superintendents shall each receive as a compensation 
seventy dollars per month, and the said master armorers each fifty 
dollars per month. 

Sec. 3. That there shall be employed an officer whose dutj'^ it shall 
be (under the direction of the Department of War) to superintend the 
receiving, safe-keeping, and distribution of the military stores of the 
United States, and to call to account all persons to w hom the same may 
be intrusted. He shall receive for his compensation at the rate of one 
hundred and twenty-live dollars per month, and shall be appointed by 
the President of the United States. 

Sec. 4. That a sum not exceeding fifty-nine thousand dollars be 
appropriated for the erecting and repairing of the arsenals and mag- 
azines aforesaid; and a sum not exceeding twent3^-two thousand eight 
hundred and sixty-five dollars for defraying the expense of the national 
armories for one year; and the further sum of three hundred and forty 
thousand dollars to be applied, under the direction of the President of 
the United States, in the purchase of arms, annnunition, and military 
stores, which said several sums shall be paid out of the duties on 
imports and tonnage to the end of the present year. 

Sec. 5. That an annual account of the expenses of the national armo- 
ries be laid before the Legislature of the United States, together with 
an account of the arms made and repaired therein. 

^ The above armament was intended, as provided in section 1, for the fortifications 
at Portland, Me. ; Portsmouth, N. H. ; Gloucester, Salem, Marblehead, and, Boston, 
Mass.; Newport, R. I.; New London, ('onn.; New York, N. Y. ; Philadelphia, Pa.; 
Wilmington, Del.; Baltimore, Md. ; Norfolk and Alexandria, Va. ; Cape F'ear River 
and Oc -;ot;k Inlet, North Carolina; Charleston and Georgetown, S. C. ; and Savannah 
and Saint Mary's, Ga. 



THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 573 

Act of May D, 179 J^ (i Stats., 367). 

AN ACT supplementary to "An act to provide for the defence of certain posts and 
harbors in the United States." 

That the po.st and harbor of the city of An napolis be f orti fied, . 
and that it sliall be lawfid for the President of the United States to 
. . . provide cannon and equipments, . . 

Act of May 22, 179 J,, {1 Stats., 369).' 

AN ACT prohil)iting for a hmited time the exportation of arms and ammunition, and 
encouraging the importation of the same. 

Sec. 1. That it shall not be lawful to export from the United States 
any cannon, muskets, pistols, bayonets, swords, cutlasses, musket balls, 
lead, bombs, grenades, gunpowder, sulphur, or saltpetre, but the expor- 
tation of all the aforesaid articles are hereby prohibited for and during 
the term of one ^^ear. 

* * * 

Sec. 5. That all brass cannon, muskets and firelocks with bayonets 
suited to the same, pistols, swords, cutlasses, musket ball, lead, and 
gunpowder which shall ])e imported into the United States from any 
foreign country within the term of one year, and all sidphur and salt- 
petre which shall ])e so imported within the term of two 3"ears from 
and after the passing of this act, shall be free of duty, anything in any 
former law to the contrary notwithstanding. 

Act of February 23, 1795 {1 Stats., ^19). 

AN ACT to estabhsh the office of purveyor of pubUc suppUes ^ 

Sec. 1. That there shall bo in the Department of the Treasury an 
officer to be denominated "purveyor of public supplies," wdiose duty 
it shall be, under the direction and supervision of the Secretary of the 
Treasury, to conduct the procuring and providing of all arms, military 
. . . stores, . . . and generally all articles of supply requisite 
for the service of the Uhited States. . . . 

•3t" * ^ 

March 3, 1795 {I-444). — For pubhc purposes only, the President was authorized 
to permit the exportation of arms, cannon, and mihtary stores. 

Act of May 1^, 1798 {1 Stats., 655). . 

AN ACT to enable the President of the United States to procure cannons, arms, 
and ammunition, and for other purposes. 

Se(\ 1. That a sum not exceeding eight hundred thousand dollars 
shall l)e, and hereby is, appropriated, and shall and may be paid out of 
an}^ monies not before appropriated, under the direction of the Presi- 
dent of the United States, to purchase, as soon as may be, a sufficient 

' S(H'tions 1 and 5 of this act reenacted June 14, 1797, the former extending pro- 
hihitinn to July l(), 179S, by act of April 7, 1798. Section 1 as amended further 
extended ivrohibition until May 14, 1800, except the exportation of sulphur and salt- 
peter, which is prohibited until March ;>, 1801. 

^The ollice was abolished after May 31, 1812, by the act of March 28, 1812. 



574 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

number of cannon, also a .supply of small arms and of ammunition and 
military stores, to be deposited and used as will be most conducive to 
the public safety and defence, at the discretion of the President of the 
United States. 

Sp:c. 2. That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, 
authorized, in case he shall hnd it impracticable to procure by pur- 
chase with certainty and dispatch proportionate to the necessities of 
the public service the cannon and arms hereby required, and any con- 
siderable part thereof shall be likely to be deficient, to take by lease, 
for a term of years, or by sale in fee to the United States, one or 
more suitable place or places where cannon or small arms may be 
advantat^eously cast and manufactured, and shall and may there estab- 
lish founderies and armouries for the manufacture of the same, respec- 
tively, and shall cause suital)le artisans and laborers to be there 
employed for account of the United States; and shall and may appoint 
one or more persons to superintend the said works, under the direction 
of the Department of War. And an account of the expenditures which 
shall be incurred in forming and emplo^dng- these estal)lishments, and 
of the cannon and arms which shall be cast and manufactured therein, 
respectively, shall be laid before the Congress of the United States, at 
their next session, and annually thereafter, so long- as the same shall 
be continued. 

Sp:c. 3. That the sum of one hundred thousand dollars shall be, and 
hereby is, appropriated, and shall l)e paid out of any monies not before 
appropriated, for the hire, purchase, and employ of the said founderies 
and armouries, respectively, in case such establishments shall be found 
necessary, as hereinbefore provided. 

Act of Hay '28, 1798 (1 Stats., 568). 

AN ACT authorizinjj; the President of the United States to raise a provisional army. 
* * * 

Sec. 13. That the President of the United States shall be, and he is 
hereby, authorized to cause to be purchased and procured a quantity 
of caps, swords or sabres, and pistols with holsters, not exceeding 
what may l)e sufficient for four thousand cavalry, and to be deposited 
in the parts of the United States where he shall deem it most conven- 
ient for the supply of any corps of cavalry which shall be called into 
the actual service of the United States. . . . 



Act of July 6, 1798 {1 Stats., 576). 

AN ACT providing arms for the mihtia tliroughont the United States. 

Sec. 1. That there shall be provided, at the charge and expense of 
the Government of the United States, thirt}- thousand stand of arms, 
which shall be deposited, by order of the President of the United 
States, at suitable places, for the purpose of being sold to the govern- 
ments of the respective States, or the militia thereof, under such regu- 
lations and at such prices as the President of the United States shall 
prescribe. 

* * * 



THE OKDNANCE UEPAKTMENT. 575 

Act of .My 16, 1708 (/ /SV^//.s-., 676*). 

AN ACT to alter and amend the several acts for the estahlishnient and regulation of 
the Treasury, War, and Navy Departments. 

* * * 

(Sec. 3. That all ptirchaycs and contract.s for supplies or services for 
the military , . . service of the United States shall ])e made 1\y 
or under the direction of the chief officers of the Departments of War 
, and all age tits or contractors for supplies or services as afore- 
said shall render their accotmts for settlement to the accountant of the 
proper department for which such supplies or services are required, 
subject, nevertheless, to the inspection and revision of the officers of 
the Treasury in manner before prescril)ed. 

Sec, 4. That it shall be the duty of the purveyor of public supplies 
to execute all such orders as he may from time to time receive iwnn 
the Secretary of War . . . relative to the procuring- and provid- 
ing of all kinds of stores and supplies; and shall render his accounts 
relative thereto to the accountants of the proper departments, which 
accoiuits shall be subject to the inspection and revision of the officers 
of the Treasury as aforesaid. 

Sec. 5. That the provision of the act passed on the eighth day of 
May, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-two, entitled ''An act 
making alterations in the Treasury and War Departments," and the 
act passed on the twenty-third day of February, one thousand seven 
hundred and ninetj'-live, entitled "An act to establish the office of 
purveyor of public supplies," so far as the same are repugnant to the 
provisions of this act, be, and the same are hereby, repealed. 

Sec 6. That all contracts to be made by virtue of this act, or of any 
law of the United States, and requiring the advance of money, or to 
be in an}' manner connected with the settlement of public accounts, 
shall be deposited in the office of the Comptroller of the Treasur}' of 
the United States within ninety days after their dates, respectively. 

Act of May 7, 1800 {2 Stats., 61). 
AN ACT for the regulation of public arsenals and magazines. 

Sec. 1. That the several officers who now are, or hereafter may be, 
employed in the armories of the United States shall l)e entitled to and 
shall rec(Mve the following compensations, in addition to their pay as 
esta))lished by law, to wit: A superintendent of such armory, three 
rations per day or an equivalent in money; and a master armorer, 
two rations per day or an equivalent in money. 

-X- * * 

Sec. ?>. That if any artilicer or workman hired, retained, or employed 
in any pu))lic arsenal or armory shall, wantonly and carelessly, break, 
im])air, or destroy any implements, tools, or utensils, or any stock, or 
materials for making guns, the property of the United States; or shall 
wilfully and ol)stinately refuse to perform the services lawfully assigned 
to him pursuant to his contract, every such person shall forfeit a sum 
not exceeding twenty dollars for CA'ery such act of disobedience or 
breach of contract, to lie reco\'ered in an}^ court having competent 
jurisdiction thereof. 

Sec. 4. That all artificers and workmen who are or shall be emploj'ed 



576 lp:gislative history of geneeal staff of u. s. army. 

in the said annories shall he, and they are hereby, exempted during 
their term of service from all military service and service as jurors in 
any court. 

Act of March 3, 180S {2 Stats., 9.1^1). 

AN ACT directing a detachnieiit from tlie militia of the United States, and for 

erecting certain arsenaln. 

* -x- * 

Sec. 5.^ That twenty-five thousand dollars l)C appropriated for 
erecting, at such place or places on the Western waters as the President 
may judge most proper, one or more arsenals; and that the President 
cause the same to be furnished with such arms, ammunition, and mili- 
tary stores as he may deem necessary. 

Act of April 2.J, 1808 (2 Stats., PO). 

AN ACT making provision for arming and eqnipping tlie wiiole body of the militia 

of the United States.^ 



Sec. 2. That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, 
authorized to purchase sites for and erect such additional arsenals and 
manufactories of arms as he may deem expedient, under the limita- 
tions and restrictions now provided by law: Provided also., That so 
much of any law as restricts the nuiuber of workmen in the armories 
of the United States to one hundred men be, and the same hereby is, 
repealed. 



Act of March 38, 1812 {2 Stats., 006). 
AN ACT to establish a Quartermaster's Department, and for other purposes. 



Sec. 17. That there shall be four conductors of artillery, who shall 
be appointed by the President ak)ne, each of whom shall be entitled to 
the pay and emoluments of a lieutenant of artillery. 



Act of May U, 1812 {2 Stats., 732). 
AN ACT for the better regulation of the orchiance. 

That there be, and hereby is, established an Ordnance Department, 
to consist of a commissary-general of ordnance, an assistant commis- 
sary-general, four deputy commissaries, and as many assistant deputy 
commissaries as the President of the United States may think neces- 
sary, not exceeding eight. 

1 Repealed by section 7 of act of April 18, 1806 (2-383). 

'''The organic" law (May 8, 1792, 1-271) for establishing a uniformed militia through- 
out the United States i)rovided that every man enrolled provide himself with suit- 
ahlearms; by theactof July 0, 1798 (1-576)", 30,000 stands of armswereto l)ei)rovided 
at public expense and sold to the State govermnents. Tlu' above act regulated the 
issues of arms to States and Territories in ])ro])orti()n to the mimber of the effective 
militia in each. 



THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 577 

Sec. 2. That the Commissary-General be authorized, from time to 
time, to employ as many wheelwrights, carriage makers, blacksmiths, 
and hiborers as the pul)lic service may, in his judoment, require. 

Sec. 3. That the commissary -j^eneral of ordnance shall be entitled 
to the rank, pay, and emoluments of a colonel of infantry, and be fur- 
ther allowed, at the rate of five hundred dollars per year and four 
rations per day, for clerks in his department; the assistant commissar}'- 
general of ordnance shall ])e entitled to the rank, pay, and emoluments 
of a major of infantry, with three additional rations per day; the 
deputy commissaries of ordnance shall be entitled to the rank, pay, 
and emoluments of a captain of infantry, with two additional rations 
per day and forage for one horse; the assistant deputies shall have 
the rank, pay. and- emoluments of a second lieutenant of infantry, with 
one additional ration per day. 

Sec. 4. That a master wheelwright and carriage maker and ;i master 
blacksmith be allowed thirty dollars each per month and one ration 
and one-half of a ration per day; that any other wheelwrights, carriage 
makers, and l)lacksmith3 be allowed each sixteen dollars per month 
and one ration and one-half of a ration per day; that the laborers each 
be allowed nine dollars per month and one ration per da}-. 

Sec. 5. That it shall be the duty of the commissary-general of 
ordnance to direct the inspection and proving of all pieces of ordnance, 
cannon balls, shells, and shot procured for the use of the Army of the 
United States, and to direct the construction of all carriages and every 
apparatus for ordnance for garrison and field service and all ammu- 
nition wagons, pontons, and traveling forges; also the direction of 
laboratories, the inspection and proving the public powder, and the 
preparing all kinds of amnninition for garrison and tield service, and 
shall, half yearly, examine all ordnance carriages, ammunition, and 
apparatus in the respective fortresses, magazines, and arsenals and 
cause the same to be preserved and kept in good order. 

Sec. (). That the commissary-general of ordnance shall execute all 
orders issued 1)y the Secretary for the Department of War in convey- 
ing all ordnance, anmuuiition, and apparatus to the respective armies, 
garrisons, magazines, and arsenals, and in time of war he shall execute 
all orders of any general othcer, connuanding in an ai'my or garrison, 
for the supply of ordnance, ammunition, carriages, pontons, forges, 
furnaces, or apparatus for garrison, tield. or siege service, and for- 
ward the same without dela}^ and in good condition. 

Sec. 7. That the conunissary-general of ordnance shall, half yearly, 
transmit to the Department of War a correct return of all ordnance, 
annnunition, military stores, and effects in the respective garrisons, 
arsenals, magazines, posts, and camps, with a f-tatement of their order, 
(juality, and condition; and also what may be necessary to keep up an 
ample supply of each and every article in the Ordnance Department, 
and shall in all things faithfully and Avithout delay execute the orders 
of the Secretary for the Department of War touching the same. 

Sec. 8. That the superintendents of military stores, keepers of mag- 
azines and arsenals, shall, half yearly, make correct returns to the com- 
missary-general of ordnance of all military stores that they respec- 
tively have in chai'ge; and that the assistant conmiissary-general of 
ordnance, the de])utv connnissaries, and assistant dejmties shall faith- 
fully and without delay execute all orders that shall be issued by the 
Secretary for the Department of War, the Connnanding General, in 
time of war, of an}^ corps, camp, or garrison, or of the commissary- 
S. Doc. 229 37 



578 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENEKAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

general of ordnance, in their respective departments, l)y virtue of 
this act. 

Sec. 9. That the commissary -general of ordnance shall make a cor- 
rect report of the artificers and laborers from time to time employed 
by him, and transmit the same to the Adjutant-General. 
* ■ * * 

Act of March J, 1813 {2 Stats., 816). 

AN ACT the better to provide for the supplies of the Army of the United States, and 
for the accountabihty of persons entrusted with the same. 

That the third section of the act entitled ''An act to provide for the 
erecting and repairing of arsenals and magaziiies, and for other pur- 
poses," passed on the second day of April, one thousand seven hundred 
and ninety-four, be, and the same is hereby, repealed from and after 
the thirt3'-first day of March, one thousand eight hundred and thirteen. 

Sec. 2. [That the superintendent-general of militar}" supplies shall] 
prescribe the forms of all the returns and accounts of such stores and 
supplies purchased, on hand, distributed, used, or sold, to be rendered 
l)y the commissar}^ of ordnance and officers in his department. . . . 

Sec. 8. That . . . the commissary of ordnance, his assistants 
and deputies . . . Avho shall have received, or may be entrusted 
with any stores or supplies of any description whatever for the use of 
the Army of the United States, and of the volunteers or militia in 
their service, shall render quarterly accounts of the disposition and 
state of all such stores and supplies to the superintendent aforesaid, 
and shall also make such other returns respecting the same, and at such 
other times as the Secretary for the War Department may prescribe: 
Provided., however., That the accounts and returns thus rendered shall 
relate to the articles of supply only which may have been received and 
disposed of or as may remain on hand, and shall not embrace the spe- 
cie accounts for monies dis})ursed by such ofhcers . . . ; which 
specie accounts shall be rendered as heretofore to the accountant for 
the War Department. 

Sec. 4. That the officers . . . who may receive monies in 
advance from the ^^^ar Department shall render quarterly accounts to 
the accountant of the said Department of their specie recei})tsand dis- 
bursements, and shall, moreover, make such other monthly sunmiary 
statements thereof to the Secretary for the said Department as he may 

prescribe. . . . 

* * * 

Act of March 3, 1813' {2 Stat.s., 819). 

AN ACT for the better organization of the general staff of the Army of the United 

States. 
•X- * * 

Sec. 6. That the number of assistant deputy conmiissaries of ord- 
nance shall not exceed sixteen, and that they shall, respectively, be 
entitled to the ])revet rank and to the pay and emoluments of a tirst 
lieutenant of infantrv. 



'The superintendent-general of military supplies, authorized to be appointed under 
tliis act, was not a staff officer but a civiUan witii a salary of $3,000 per annum, His 
duties were to keep i)r()per accounts of all military stores and supplies of every de- 
scription purchased for the Army, the voluutpers,"and the militia, and to prescribe 
forn)s of all the retui'ns aud accounts of such stores and supplies, etc. 



THE ORDNANCE DEFAKTMENT. 579 

Sec. 11. That all letters and piickcts to and from the . . . com- 
missary-o-eneral of oi'diuuu'c . . . which relate to their official 
duties shall be free from postage. 

* * * 

Aef of Ami list 2, 1813 {3 StaU., 75). 

AN ACT supplementary to the act entitled "An act for the better regulation of the 

ordnance." 

That in addition to the present number allowed by law, as many 
deputy commissaries of ordnance may ])e appointed, not exceeding five, 
as the President of the United States shall deem necessary to the pub- 
lic service, who shall be entitled to the same rank, pay, emoluments, 
rations, and forage as are now provided by the act to which this is a 
supplement. 

Act of Mai'ch 30, 1<SU {3 Stats., 113).' 

AN ACT for the better organizing, paying, and supplying the Army of the United 

States. 



Sec. 16. That the commissary-general of ordnance may employ in 
his department, 1)esides blacksmiths and wheelwrights, other mechanics, 
such as the public service may require, who shall, together with the 
said blacksmiths and wheelwrights, be mustered under the general 
denomination of artificers; and such artificers, being hereafter or hav- 
ing been heretofore enlisted to serve for the term of five years or dur- 
ing the war, shall l)e entitled to the same allowance of clothing as is or 
may be provided for the soldiers of the Army. 

Sec. 17. That the laborers who may be hereafter enlisted to serve 
in the Ordnance Department for the term of five years, or during the 
war, shall be entitled to a bounty of twenty-five dollars in money and 
the same annual allowance of clothing as is or may be provided for the 
soldiers of the Army. 



Act of Felruary 6\ 1815 (3 Stats., W3). 
AN ACT for the better regulation of the Ordnance Department. 

That from and after the passage of this act, the Ordnance Depart- 
ment shall consist of one colonel, one lieutenant-colonel, two majors, 
ten captains, ten first lieutenants, ten second lieutenants, and ten third 
lieutenants. 

Skc. ^2. That the colonel or senior officer of the Ordnance Depart- 
ment is authorized to enlist for the service of that department, for 
five years, as many master armorers, master carriage makers, master 
blacksmiths, artificers, armorers, carriage makers, blacksmiths, and 
laborers as the public service, in his judgment, under the direction of 
the Secretary for the Department of War, may require. 

Sec. 3. That it shall l)e the dutv of the colonel of the Ordnance 



' Section 3 provides for the assignment of one of the second lieutenants in each 
company for the duty of receiving and accounting for all ammunition, implements, 
and cannon furnished the company by the Ordnance Department. 



580 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Department to direct the inspection and proving of all pieces of ord- 
nance, cannon balls, shot, shells, small arms, and side arms, and equip- 
ments procured for the use of the armies of the United States, and to 
direct the construction of all cannon and carriages and every imple- 
ment and apparatus for ordnance, and all ammunition wagons, travelling 
forges, and artificers' wagons, the inspection and proving of powder, 
and the preparation of all kinds of ammunition and ordnance stores. 
And it shall also be the duty of the colonel or senior officer of the 
Ordnance Department to furnish estimates, and, under the direction of 
the Secretary for the Department of War, to make contracts and pur- 
chases, for procuring the necessary supplies of arms, equipments, 
ordnance, and ordnance stores. 

Sec. 4. That the colonel of the Ordnance Department shall organize 
and attach to regiments, corps, or garrisons such niunber of artificers, 
with proper tools, carriages, and apparatus, under such regulations 
and restrictions relative to their government and number as, in his 
judgment, with the approbation of the Secretary for the Department 
of War, may be considered necessary. 

Sec. 5. That the colonel of the Ordnance Department, or senior 
officer of that department of any district, shall execute all orders of 
the Secretary for the Department of War, and, in time of war, the 
orders of any general or tield officer conmianding any army, garrison, 
or detachment, for the supply of all arms, ordnance, ammunition, car- 
riages, forges, and apparatus for garrison, field, or siege service. 

Sec. 6. That the keepers of all magazines and arsenals shall, quar- 
terly, or oftener if so directed, and in such manner as directed by the 
colonel of the Ordnance Department, make correct returns to the 
colonel or senior officer of the Ordnance Department of all ordnance, 
arms, and ordnance stores they may have in charge. 

Sec. 7. That the costs of repairs or damages done to arms, equip- 
ments, or implements in the use of the armies of the United States 
shall be deducted from the pay of any officer or soldier in whose care 
or use the said arms, equipments, or implements were when the said 
damage occurred: Provided., The said damages were occasioned by the 
abuse or negligence of the said officer or soldier. And it is hereby 
made the duty of every officer commanding regiments, corps, garri- 
sons, or detachments to make, once every two months, or oftener if 
so directed, a written report to the colonel of the Ordnance Depart- 
ment, stating all damage to arms, equipments, and implements belonging 
to his command, noting those occasioned by negligence or abuse, and 
naming the officer or soldier by whose negligence or abuse the said 
damages were occasioned. 

Sec. 8. That the colonel of the Ordnance Department shall make 
half yearly to the War Department, or oftener, if the Secretary for 
that Department shall so direct, a correct report of the officers and all 
artificers and laborers in his department; also of all ordnance, arms, 
military stores, implements, and apparatus of every description, and 
in such form as the Secretary for the Department of War shall direct. 

Sec. 9. That to insure system and uniformity in the difi'erent public 
armories they are hereb}^ placed under the direction of the Ordnance 
Department. And the colonel of the Ordnance Department, under the 
direction of the Secretary for the Department of War, is hereby 
authorized to estaV)lish depots of arms, aniiuunition, and ordnance stores 
in such parts of the United States and in such numbers as may be 
deemed necessary. 



thp: ordnance department. 581 

Sec. 10. That the colonel of tho Ordnance Department, under the 
direction of the Secretary for the Department of War, is hereby 
authorized to draw up a system of regulations for the government of 
the Ordnance De})artment, forms of returns and reports, and for the 
uniformity of manufactures of all arms, ordnance, ordnance stores, 
implements, and apparatus, and for the repairing and better preserva- 
tion of the same. 

Sec. 11. That the pay, emoluments, and allowances for the officers 
of the Ordnance Department shall be the same as the pay, emoluments, 
and allowances now allowed to officers of similar grades, respectively, 
in the artillery of the United States. And that the pay of a master 
armorer shall be thirty dollars per month and one and a half rations 
per day; of a master carriage maker, thirty dollars per month and 
one and a half rations per day; the pay of arniorers, carriage makers, 
or blacksmiths, each sixteen dollars per month and one and a half 
rations per day; the pay of artificers, thirteen dollars per month and 
one ration per day; and the pay of laborers, nine dollars per month 
and one ration per day; and to all of the said workmen, artificers, and 
laborers the same clothing and other allowances as are allowed to 
privates of infantry in the Army of the United States, except clothing 
to the master workmen. 

Sec. 12. That the President of the United States is hereby author- 
ized to continue in the service, under this act, all the officers of the 
Ordnance Department in service on the passage of the same, or to 
transfer them to other corps of the Army of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 14. That the act passed May the fourteenth, one thousand 
eight hundred and twelve, entitled ''An act for the better regulation 
of the Ordnance Department." and the sections of any other acts com- 
ing within the purview of any of the sections of this act be, and the 
same are hereb}^ repealed. 

May 17, 1815. — . . . The acts of Congress establishing the Ordnance Depart- 
ment, . . . remain in force; . . . {General Orders, A. and I. G.'s Office.) 

Act of April 29, IS 16 {3 Stats., 323). 

AN ACT to increase the compensation of the superintendents of the manufactories 
of arms at Springfield and Harper's Ferry. 

That in addition to the pay and rations as at present fixed of the 
superintendents of the manufactories of arms at Springfield and Har- 
pei-'s Ferry they shall receive thirty dollars ]^er month and one ration 
[xu' day 

Act of March 2, 1821 {3 Stats., 615). 

AN ACT to reduc(! and fix the military peace estabUshment of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. ■!. That the Ordnance Department shall be merged in the artil- 
lery; and that the President of the United States be, and he is hereb3% 
authorized to select from the regiments of artiller}^ such officers as 
may be necessary to perform ordnance duties, who, while so detached, 
shall receive tiie pay and emoluments now received by ordnance officers, 
and shall ))e su])iect only to the orders of the War Department; and 
that the iuuul)er of eidisted men in the Ordnance Department be 
reduced to fifty-six. 



582 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. AKMV. 

Act of March 3. 1823 {3 Stats. ^ 788). 

AN ACT to establi.'^h a. national armory on the Western waters. 

That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, author- 
ized to employ a skilful engineer or officer of the Ordnance Depart- 
ment, with such other person or persons as he may judge proper, to 
examine the most suitable site for a national armory on the AVestern 
waters. . . . 

Act of March 3, 1825 (^ Stats., 127). 

AN ACT to authorize the sale of unserviceable ordnance, arms, and military stores. 

That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, author- 
ized to cause to be sold any ordnance, arms, ammunition, or other 
military stores . . . which, upon proper inspection or survey, 
shall appear to be damaged oi- otherwise unsuitable for the public 
service whenever, in his opinion, the sale of such unserviceable stores 
will be advantageous to the public service. 

Sec. 2. That the inspection or surve}^ of the unserviceable stores 
shall be made by an inspector-general, or such other officer or officers 
as the Secretary of War may appoint for that purpose; and the sales 
shall be made under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed 
by the Secretary of War. 

May 18, 1826 [4-173). — In case of deficiency of any article of military supplies or 
of damage to such supplies, the value of the deficient articles or that of the damage, 
to be charged against the responsible officer unless he can show that the deficiency 
or damage was not occasioned by any fault on his part. 

Act of May 20, 1826 (^ Stats., 178). 

AN ACT concerning the United States arsenal in Georgia. 

That the Secretary of War be, and he is hereby, authorized to cause 
to be purchased, in the vicinity of Augusta, a suitable site for an 
United States arsenal and to be erected thereon such buildings as may 
he necessary, in lieu of those at this time occupied for such purpose: 
Pi'ODided, Such site can ])e obtained upon reasonable terms, and with 
a proper regard to health and to the public conveniences: And pro- 
vided cdso, That the consent of the proper authorities of the State of 
(xeorgia shall be given thereto and the jurisdiction over the same be 
ceded to the United States. 



Act of May 20, 1826 (^ Stats., 179). 

AN ACT to authorize the Secretary of the War Department to purchase a site for an 
arsenal at St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, and to provide for the erection of an 
arsenal on the same. 

That the Secretary of the War Department be, and he is hereby, 
authorized to purchase, as soon as it can be etfected on reasonable terms, 
a site for an arsenal at or in the vicinit}^ of St. Louis, Missouri; and 
to cause to be erected such an arsenal on the same as may be deenied 
proper for the safe-keeping of the arms and nuinitions of the United 
States on that frontier. 

March 3, 1827 {4, Ji'^i).— Secretary of War was authorized to i)urchase a site for an 
arsenal in the town of Augusta, Me. 



THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 583 

Arl of Mil y J?^, ism (/^ Stats. ^ 30 Jf). 

AN ACT autliorizin<; the eytahlishment of an arsenal im the waters of Mobile or 

Pensacola bays. 

That the Secretaiy of War be, and he is hereb}', authorized and 
required to procure, as soon as it can be effected on reasonable ternjs, 
a site for an arsenal on the waters of Mo})ile or Pensacola l)ays, and to 
cause to be erected thereon such an arsenal as may be deemed proper 
for the safe-keeping- of the arms and munitions of war of the United 
States for the Mexican Gulf frontier. . . . 

Act of April 5, 183'2 (^ Stats. , SOJ,). 
AN ACT providing for the organization of the Ordnance Department. 

That from and after the passage of this act the Ordnance Depart- 
ment shall consist of one colonel, one lieutenant-colonel, two majors, 
and ten captains, and as many enlisted men as the public service may 
require, not exceeding two hundred and fifty. 

Sec. 2. That the Secretary of War be authorized to select from the 
sergeants of the line of the Army who shall have faithfully served 
eight years in the service, four years of which in the grade of non- 
commissioned officer, as many ordnance-sergeants as the service may 
require, not to exceed one to each military post, whose duty it shall 
be to receive and preserve the ordnance, arms, ammunition, and 
other military stores at the post, under the direction of the command- 
ing officer of the same, and under such regulations as shall be pre- 
scribed by the Secretarv of War. and who shall receive for their 
services five dollars per month in addition to their pay in the line. 

Sec. 3. That the first section of the act passed on the eighth of Feb- 
ruary, one thousand eight hundred and fifteen, entitled "'An act for 
the better regulation of the Ordnance Department," and so much of 
the second section of the act entitled "An act to reduce and fix the 
military peace establishment of the United States," passed the second 
of March, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-one, as provides 
for one supernumerary captain to each regiment of artillery, to per- 
foi'm ordnance duty, and so much of the fourth section of the same 
act as merges the Ordnance Department in the artillery and reduces 
the number of enlisted men be, and the same are hereb}^, repealed: 
Provided., That nothing contained in this act shall be so construed as 
to divest the President of the United States of authority to select 
from the regiments of artillery such number of lieutenants as may be 
necessary for the performance of the duties of the Ordnance Depart- 
ment. 

Sec. 4. That all officers and enlisted men authorized by -this act 
shall })e subject to the Rules and Articles of War, and that the officers 
shall receive the pay and emoluments now allowed, or which may 
hereafter be allowed, to artillery officers. 

Act of June U, 1836 {5 Stats., 4,7). 

AN ACT to establish an arsenal of construction in the State of North Carolina. 

That the sum of fortv-fiAt^ thousand dollars be, and the same is 
hereby, appropriated . . . towards the purchase of a site and 
the building of an arsenal of deposit and general construction near 
the town of Fayetteville, in iho State of North Carolina. 



584 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Act of July 2, 1830 {5 StaU, 77). 

AN ACT making appropriations for certain fortitications of the United States for the 
year one thousand eight hundred and tliirty-six, and for other purposes. 

, . . For the purchase of sites, and the construction of arsenals, 
for the deposit of arms in Arkansas, Missouri, and at Memphis, Ten- 
nessee, forty-two thousand two hundred and tifty-six dollars: J^'ovu/ed, 
That the cost of such arsenal shall not exceed fourteen thousand dollars 

each. 

* * * 

Act ofJvly 5, 1838 {5 Stats., 256). 

AN ACT to increase the present raiUtary establishment of the United States, and for 

other purposes. 



Sec. 13. That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, 
authorized to add to the Ordnance Department, whenever he may deem 
it expedient to increase the same, by and with the advice of the Senate, 
two majors; and that he be further authorized to transfer ten tirst lieu- 
tenants and ten second lieutenants from the artillery to the Ordnance 
Department, and that the pay and emoluments of the officers of the 
said department shall be the same as those allowed to the officers of the 
re^'iment of dragoons. 

Sec. 14. That so nuich of the fourth section of the act passed fifth 
of April, eighteen hundred and thirty-two, for the organization of the 
Ordnance Department as authorized the officers of ordnance to receive 
the same pay and emoluments now allowed artillery officers shall be 
construed to include the ten dollars per month additional pay to every 
officer in the actual conmiand of a company as compensation for the duties 
and responsibilities with respect to clothing, arms, and accoutrements 
of the company, under the authority of the second section of the act 
passed second of March, eighteen hundred and twenty-seven, giving 
fuither compensation to the captains and subalterns of the Army of 
the United States in certain cases: Provided, That the officers of the 
Ordnance Department claiming the compensation for such duties and 
responsibilities shall have been actuall}^ in the command of enlisted 
men of the ordnance equal to a company of artillery, and thereby 
incurred the aforesaid responsibilities. 

* * * 

Sec. 21. That all letters and packages on piiblic business to and 
from . . . the colonel of ordnance . . . shall be free from 
postage. 

* -X- * 

Sec. 26. That the compensation hereafter to be allowed to such 
ordnance storekeepers as shall be designated as paymasters shall not 
exceed the pay and emoluments of a captain of ordnance. 

* * * 

Sec. 32. That the superintendents of the armories at Springfield and 
Harper's Ferry shall hereafter receive each the sum of fifteen hun- 
dred dollars and rations, fuel, and (juarters as at present authorized; 
and that the master armorers of the same shall each receive the sum 



THE OEDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 585 

PI iucKt' liuiulrcd dollars, jind fuol, and qiuirtoi's as at present authoi- 
i/ed; and that the aforesaid sums and allowances to tiie ofiicers afore- 
said shall be in full compensation for their services, respectively. 

* * * 

Act of July 7, 1838 {5 Stats., 308). 

AN ACT supplementary to an act entitled "An act to increase the present military 
establishment of tlie United States, and for other purposes," approved July fifth, 
eighteen hundred and thirty-eight. 

That the act to which this is a supplement shall be, and the same 
hereby is, explained, limited, and moditied as follows: 

* -X- * 

Fourth, That the number of lieutenants authorized l)v said act to 
be added and transferred to the Ordnance Department shall be limited 

to twelve. 

* * * 

Act of August 23, 18^2 {5 Stats., 512). 

AN ACT respecting the organization of the Army, and for other purposes. 
* * x- 

Sec. 2. That the offices of the superintendents of the armories at 
Springfield and at Harper's Ferry shall be, and the same are heret)y, 
abolished, and the duties thereof shall l)e performed 1)y such officers of 
the Ordnance Corps as shall be designated by the President; and that 
from and after the first day of October next the master armorers at 
the national armories shall receive each twelve hundred dollars annually, 
payable quarter yearly; and the inspectors and clerks each eight hun- 
dred dollars per annum; and the paymasters and military storekeepers 
at the armories and at the arsenals of construction at Pittsburg, Water- 
vliet, and Washington City shall receive each twelve hundred and fifty 
dollars annually, payal)le in like manner, and the said paymasters and 
military storekeepers shall give security for the faithful discharge of 
their duties in such sum as the Secretary of War shall prescribe. And 
the two military storekeepers, authorized by the act of second of 
March, one thousand eight hundred and twenty -one, shall receive each 
twelve hundred and fifty dollars per annum. And no military store- 
keeper at arsenals shall, after the first day of October next, receive as 
pay or emoluments beyond eight hundred dollars per annum besides 
quarters actually provided and occupied as such, and the number author- 
ized to be thus employed is here))v limited to ten; and all other offices 
of military storekeepers are hereby abolished and discontinued on and 
after said first day of October, and the officers hereby dismissed shall 
!)(> allowed three months' pay in addition to the pay and emoluments to 
which they may be entitled on that da.y. And none of the above-named 
officers, and no officers at the armories, of any grade whatever, shall 
hereafter receive emoluments of any kind, or any compensation or 
commutation beyond their stipulated pay in money, except quarters 
actually provided for and occupied by such officers. 

-X- " -X- * 

Sec. .5. That a competent person may be employed by the Ordnance 
Ikireau, under the direction of the Secretary of War, for such time 



HHC) LEGISLATIVE IIIHTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

iis may be necessary, to superintend the manufacture of iron ciinnon 
at the several foundries where such cannon may be made uiulcr con- 
tracts with th(^ United States, whose pay and emohunents shall not 
exceed those of a major of ordnance durino- the time he shall be so 
employed, to be paid out of the appropriations for armament of forti- 
fications; and for the services rendered in such superintendence since 
the first day of March, eighteen hundred and forty-one, under the 
authority of the War Department, the same compensation shall be 
allowed as herein provided. 



Act of June 18, IHJfi {9 Stats., 17). 

AN ACT supplemental to an act entitled "An act providing the prosecution of the 
existing war between the United States and the Republic of Mexico," and for other 
purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 11. That the colonel or senior officer of the Ordnance Depart- 
ment is authorized to enlist, for the service of that department, as 
many master armorers, master carriag-e makers, master blacksmiths, 
art ilicers, armorers, carriage makers, blacksmiths, and laborers as the 
public s(n'vice, in his judgment, luider the directions of the Secretary 
for the Department of War, may require. 

Act of March 3, 181^7 {9 Stats., 1S4). 

AN ACT making provision for an additional number of general officers, and for other 

l)urposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 16. That the President of the United States be, and is hereby, 
authorized to add to the Ordnance Department, whenever he shall deem 
it expedient to increase the same, two captains and six first lieuten- 
ants, who shall b(^ entitled to receive the same pay and allowances as 
officers of those grades, respectively, now belongings to that depart- 
ment, to be disbanded at the close of the war. 

* * -X- 

Sec. 22. That all the officers appointed . . . under this act 
shall be discharged at the close of the w^ar with Mexico, except the 
officers of the ordnance authorized by the sixteenth section, . 

July JO, 1848 {9-246) . — Provisions of pension laws (-onstrued toapply to enlisted men 
of the Ordnance and other corps of the Army. 

Remlution of August 10, 181^8 (9 Stats., 3^0). 

.JOINT RESOLUTION concerning certain portions of the Marine and Ordnance Corps. 

That . . . the artificers and laborers of the Ordnance Corps 
serving in said war [Mexican war] be placed, in all respects, as to 
bounty land and other rcMuuneration, in addition to ordinary pay, on 
a footing with th(> officers, noiu'ommissioned ofticei's. privates, and 
nuisicians of the Army: Pt'orldcd, That this reiuuneration shall be in 
Tuui of prize money and all other extra allowances. 
* * * 

March 2, 1849 (9-418). — Arms and ammunition from the public stores may be 
issued to emigrants to the Territories of Oregon, (Jalifornia, or New Mexico. 



THE OKDNANCE DEJ'AKTMENT. 587 

Act of March 3, ISJfi {9 Stats., 370). 

AN ACT inakinji a]ii)ropriatioiis for the support of the Army for the year ending the 
thirtieth of June, one tliousand eight liundred and fifty. 

* * -X- 

Sec. 2. That the militaiy storekeeper at Watertown Arsenal, Massa- 
chusetts, be allowed, from this first day of October, eighteen hundred 
and forty-two, the same compensation as is authorized by the act of 
the twenty-third Auj^-ust, eitj^hteen hundred and forty-two, to be 
paid to the storekeepers at the Washington, Pittsburg, and Watervliet 
arsenals; . 

* * * 

Act of Septemher 28, 1850 (9 Stats., 50^). 

AN ACT making appropriations for tlie support of tlie Army for tlie year ending the 
tliirtieth of June, one tliousand eight hundred and fifty-one. 

* * * 

. . . That the principal assistant in the Ordnance Bureau of the 
War Department shall receive a compensation not less than that of 
the person employed at the foundaries, under the fifth section of the 
act approved twenty-third of August, eighteen hundred and forty-two, 
from and after the date thereof. 

Sec. 3. That the moneys which may be received by the proper 
officers of the Army for the sale of . . . military stores aiid other 
supplies be, and they are hereby, exempted from the operation of the 
act of the third of March, eighteen hundred and forty-nine, entitled 
"An act requiring all moneys received from the customs and all other 
sources to be paid into the Treasury without abatement or reduction." 

* * * 

Sec. 4. That the military storekeeper at Little Rock Arsenal, 
Arkansas, be allowed, from the first day or October, eighteen hundred 
and forty-two, to the twenty-fifth day of October, eighteen hundred 
and forty-nine, the same compensation as is authorized by the act of 
the twenty-third of August, eighteen hundred and forty-two, to ])e 
paid to the storekeepers at the Washington, Pittsburg, and Watervliet 
arsenals, . 

* * -x- 

March 3, 1851 (9-618). — Autliorizes erection of two powder magazines on tlie 
Jefferson Barracks reservation. 

Act of March 3, 1853 [10 Stats., 9Ali). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending 
the thirtieth of June, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-four. 

* * * 

Provided, That the salary of the military storekeepers of 
the Ordnance Department in Oregon, California, and New Mexico shall 
hereafter be $1,250 per annum. 

* * * 

. . . Provided, That from and after the first daj' of July next 
the act of Congress approved August twenty-third, eighteen hundred 
and fortv-two, be so modified that the President may, if in his opinion 
the public interest demands it, place over any of the armories a super- 



588 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OK GENERAL STAFF OF IT. S. ARMY. 

inUMulent, who docs not belong- to tlic Army; . . . ; and the Soc- 
retaiy of War 1)0, and ho is hereby, authorized to al)olish such of the 
arsenals of the United States as in his judgment may l)e useless or 
unnecessary. 

Sec. 3. That the Secretary of War be directed to report to Congress 
whether in his opinion it would not be more economical, proper, and 
advisable to cause all the arms of the United States to be made by 

contract. 

* * * 

Sec. 9. That whenever any lieutenant of the . . . ordnance 
corps shall have served fourteen years' continuous service as lieuten- 
ant, he shall be promoted to the rank of captain: Provided^ That the 
whole number of officers in . . . said corps shall not be increased 
beyond the number now fixed by law: And provided further^ That no 
officer shall be promoted before those who rank him in his corps. 



Act of AugxiHt 5, 185 J^ {10 Stats., 576). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending 
the thirtieth of June, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-five. 

. . . Provided., That so much of all laws heretofore passed which 
authorized the appointment of military officers to superintend the 
operations at the national armories be, and the same is hereby, 
repealed; and from and after the passage of this act it shall be the 
duty of the President of the United States, by and with the advice and 
consent of the Senate, to appoint a competent and well-qualified civil- 
ian as superintendent at each of said armories. 

* * * 

March 3, 1S55 {10-635). — Compensation of the civil superintendents of national 
armories to l)e $2,500 without penjuisites or allowances of any kind, quarters 
excepted, section 7, annual distriljution of arms to the several States to be made 
according to nundjer of Senators and Kej)resentatives in Congress. 

A'ugiisf oO, j,s.')<; {11-147). — Erection authorized of suital»le magazines and other 
arsenal buildings in Texas, California, Washington or Oregon Territory, and New 
Mexico. 

Act of March 3, 1857 {11 Stats., 200). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending 

the thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and fifty-eight. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. That the master armorers at the national armories shall 
receive fifteen hundred dollars each per annum. 



Act of June 12, 1858 {11 Stats., 332). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Arniy for the year ending 
the thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and fifty-nine. 

* * * 

For the alteration of old arms so as to make them breech-loading 
arms, upon a model to be selected and approved by a board of ordnance 
officers . . . : Provided, That . . . not exceeding five thou- 
sand dollars may be expended under the direction of the Secretary of 
War, and at his discretion, in applying to the old or new arms any 
recent improvement in the mode of priming. 

* -;; * 



THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 589 

Act ofJime 23, 1860 {12 Stats., 91). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial expenses 
of Government for the year ending the thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and 
sixty-one. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. That all purchases and contracts for supplies or services in 
any of the departments of the Government, except for personal serv- 
ices, when the public exigencies do not require the immediate delivery 
of articles or performance of the service, shall be made by advertising 
a sufficient time previously for proposals respecting the same. When 
immediate delivery or performance is required by the public exigency, 
the articles or service required may l)e procured by open purchase or 
contract at the places and in the manner in which such articles are 
usually bought and sold or such services engaged between individuals. 
No contract or purchase shall hereafter be made unless the same be 
authorized by law, or be under an appropriation adequate to its ful- 
fillment, except in the War and Navy Departments, for clothing, sub- 
sistence, forage, fuel, quarters, or transportation, which, however, 
shall not exceed the necessities of the current 3'ear. No arms, nor 
military sitpplies whatever, which are of a patented invention, shall be 
purchased, nor the right of using or applying any patented invention, 
unless the same shall be authorized by law, and the appropriation 
therefor explicitly set forth that it is for such patented invention. 



Act of February 21, 1S61 {12 Stats., 14,7). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the naval service for the year ending the thirtieth 
of June, eighteen hundred and sixty-two. 

* * * 

Sec. 5. That the third section of the act entitled "An act making 
appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial expenses 
of the Government for the year ending the thirtieth of flune, eighteen 
hundred and sixty-one," approved June twenty-three, eighteen hun- 
dred and sixty, be, and the same is hereby, repealed, except so far as 
the said section prohibits the purchase of patented firearms, as to which 
the said section shall still be in force. 

* -X- * 

March 3, 1861 [12-208).— The St. Louis Arsenal to be removed to Jefferson Bar- 
racks. [This act was repealed by the act of February 20, 1865 (13-432).] 

Act of March 2, 1861 {12 Stats., 214). 

AN ACT making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for 
the year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and sixty-two. 

•X- * * 

Sec. 10. That all purchases and contracts for supplies or services 
in any of the Departments of the Government, except for personal 
services, when the public exigencies do not require the immediate 
delivery of the article or articles or performance of the service, shall 
be made ])v advertising a sutHciont time previously for proposals 
res})(H'ting the same. ^Vhen innnediato delivery or performance is 
recjuired by the public exigency, the articles or service required ma}' 
be procured by open purchase or contract at the place and in the 
manner in which such articles are usua^y bought and sold or such 



590 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

services engaged between individuals. No contract or purchase shall 
hereafter be made unless the same be authorized by law or be under 
an appropriation adequate to its fultillment, except in the War . . . 
Departments, for clothing, subsistence, forage, fuel, ((uarters, or trans- 
portation, which, however, shall not exceed the necessities of the 
current year. And the tliird section of the act entitled ""An act mak- 
ing appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial expenses 
of the (Tovernment for the year ending the thirtieth [twenty-thirdj of 
June, eighteen hundred and sixty-one," shall be, and the same is 
hereby, repealed. 

Juhi 10, 1861 {12-355). — Remits duties on arms imported between May 1, 1861, 
and January 1, 1862, on proof that they were intended for the use of the troops of 
any State aiding in suppressing the insurrection against the United States. 

Act of August 3, 1861 {12 Stats., 287). 

AN ACT providing for the better organization of tlie military establishment. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. . . . And there shall be added to the Ordnance Depart- 
ment of the United States Army, as now organized, one Chief of Ord- 
nance with the rank, pay, and emoluments of the Quartermaster-General 
of the Army; one colonel, one lieutenant-colonel, and six second lieu- 
tenants; the field officers to be appointed by selection from the officers 
of the Army, and the second lieutenants from the graduates of the 
United States Military Academy by transfers from the engineers, or 
the topographical engineers, or the artillery. 



Act of August 6, 1861 {P2 Stats.. 317). 

AN ACT to promote the efficiency of the Engineer and Topographical Engineer Corps, 

and for other purjioses. 

* * * 

Sec. 5. That so much of the first section of the act approved August 
fifth, eighteen hundred and fifty-four, as authorizes the appointment 
of civilians to superintend the national armories be, and the same is 
hereby, repealed, and that the superintendents of these armories shall 
be appointed hereafter from officers of the Ordnance Department. 

June 2, 1862 {12-411). — Secretary of War to furnish officers appointed by him to 
make contracts, with a printed letter of instructions and blank forms of contracts, 
affidavits of returns, etc. , to secure uniformity in such instruments. 

Act of July 5, 1862 {12 Stats., 505). 

ANeACT making aitin-opriations for the support of the Army for the year ending the 
thirtieth of June, eighteen lumdred and sixty-three, and additional appropriations 
for the year ending the thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, and for 
other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 3. That the enlisted men of the Ordnance Department now 
designated as master workmen sliall hereafter be designated and mus- 
tered as sergeants; those now designated as armorers, carriage makers, 
and blacksmiths shall be designated and mustered as corporals; those 



THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 591 

now designated as artificers shall ])e designated and mustered as privates 
of the first class, and those now designated as laborers shall be desig- 
nated and mustered as privates of the second class: Provided^ That the 
pay, rations, and clothing now authorized by law to the respective 
grades of enlisted ordnance men shall not be changed. 

* * * 

Act ofJidy lU 1862 {12 Stats., 537). 

AN ACT for the e8tal)Iishment of cei'tain national arsenals. 

That there shall ])e, and herel\v is, established a riational arsenal at 
Columbus, in the State of Ohio, at Indianapolis, in the State of Indiana, 
and on Rock Island, in the State of Illinois, for the deposit and repair 
of arms and other munitions of war. 

* * -x- 

Jiily 17, 1862 {13-594). — Contractors for arms, ammunition, etc., guilty of fraud 
to be subject to the rules and regulations governing the Army. This provision was 
extended by section 7 of the act of July 7, 1864 (13-394), to apply to their agents and 
all inspectors of military supplies. 

Act of Jidy n\ 1862 {12 Stats. , 597) . 

AN ACT to amend the act calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the ITnion, 
suppress insurrections, and repel invasions, approved Fel:)ruary twenty-eighth, 
seventeen hundred and ninety-five, and the acts amendatory thereof, and for other 
purposes. 

* -K- -x- 

Sec. 10. . . . The senior officer of artillery in each army corps 
shall, in addition to his other duties, act as chief of artiller}^ and ord- 
nance at the headquarters of the corps. 



Act cif March 3, 1863 {12 Stats., 7^). 

AN ACT to promote the efficiency of the Corps of Engineers and of the Ordnance 
Department, and for other purposes. 

* * -X- 

Sec. 4. That there shall be added to the Ordnance Department one 
lieutenant-colonel, two majors, eight captains, eight first lieutenants, 
the additional officers herein autliorized to l)e appointed by promotion 
so far as the present officers of the Ordnance Corps will permit, and 
the residue to be appointed by transfers from other regiments or corps 
of the Ami}': Provided, That no officer of the Ordnance Department 
below the rank of a field officer shall be promoted or commissioned to 
a higher grade, nor shall any officer of the Army be connnissioned as 
an ordnance officer until he shall have passed a satisfactory examina- 
tio!i before a ))()ai'd of not less than three ordnance officers, senior to 
him in rank; and should such oflicer fail on such examination, he shall 
l)e suspended fi'om promotion or appointment for one year, when he 
may be reexamined before a like ])oard; and if, upon such second 
examination, an ordnance officer fail, he shall be dismissed from the 
service, and if an officer of the Ai'my he shall not be commissioned. 

-X- * -X- 

Sec. 12. That the increase of rank of officers and in the number of 
officers provided for in this act shall continue only during the exist- 



b{)2 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

ence of the present rebellion; and thereafter the several officers pro- 
moted under this act shall have the respective rank they would have 
had if this act had not passed, and the number shall be reduced by the 
President to the number authorized by law prior to the passage of 
this act. 

April 19, 1864 {13-50). — ^The Secretary of War was authorized to take and liold all 
the lands and shores of the island of Rock Island, Illinois, to be kept as a military 
reservation. (Note to July II, 1862, 12-537.) 

Act of July 28, 1866 {U Stats., 332). 

AN ACT to increase and tix the military peace establishment of the United States. 
-X- * * 

Sec. 21. That the Ordnance Department of the Army shall consist 
of the same number of officers and enlisted men as now authorized b}^ 
law, and the officers shall be of the following" grades, viz: One briga- 
dier-general, three colonels, four lieutenant-colonels, ten majors, 
twenty captains, sixteen first lieutenants, and ten second lieutenants, 
with the same pay and emoluments as now provided by law; and thir- 
teen ordnance storekeepers, of whom a number not exceeding six may 
be appointed and authorized to act as pa3anasters at armories and 
arsenals. The ordnance storekeeper and pa3'master at the national 
armory at Springfield shall have the rank, pay, and emoluments of 
a major of cavalry, and all other ordnance storekeepers shall have the 
rank, pay, and emoluments of captains of cavalry, and two-thirds 
of the . . . ordnance storekeepers to be appointed under this 
. . . section of this act shall be selected from volunteer officers 
or soldiers who have performed meritorious service in the Army of 
the United States during the late rebellion. 

* * -X- 

Sec. 23. That the . . . Chief of Ordnance shall hereafter be 
appointed by selection from the corps to which they Ijclong. 



Act of March 2, 1867 (7^ Stats., J^si^B). 

AN ACT to provide for a temporary increase of the pay of otticers in the Army of 
the United States, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 7. That (excepting the ordnance storekeeper and paymaster at 
the Springfield Armor}^, who has the rank, pay, and allowances of a 
major of cavalry) all storekeepers of the Army shall hereafter have 
the rank, pay, and allowances of captains of cavalry. 

* * * 

March 2, 1867 {14-487). — Section 3 authorizes a board of six ofht^ers (three from the 
Army) to determine by practical tests w^hat increase of strength or variation of form 
is necessary to enable our best stone forts to resist the heaviest guns. 

March 2, 1867 {14-571). — Forbids payment of accounts, claims, etc., against the 
Government which accrued prior to April 13, 1860, in favor of disloyal persons; this 
not to apply to claims assigned to loyal creditors of such persons in payment of debts 
incurred prior to March 1, 1861. 

March 24, 1868 {15-250). — Captured ordnance and implements maybe issued to 
the several national asylums for the purpose of firing salutes; also such small arms 
and equipments as may be necessary for guard duty. 



THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 593 

Resolution of July 20, 1868 {15 Stats., 259). 

JOINT RESOLUTION directing the Secretary of War to sell damaged or unservice- 
able arms, ordnance, and ordnance stores. 

That the Secretary of War be, and he is hereby, authorized aud 
directed to cause to be sold, after offer at public sale on thirty days' 
notice, in such manner and at such times and places, at public or pri- 
\'ate sale, as he may deem most advantageous to the public interest, 
the old cannon, arms, and other ordnance stores now in possession 
of the War Department which are damaged or otherwise unsuitable 
for the United States military service, or for the militia of the United 
States, and to cause the net proceeds of such sales, after paying all 
proper expenses of sale and transportation to the place of sale, to be 
deposited in the Treasury of the United States. 

July 25, 1868 {15-187). — Sale of St. Louis Arsenal authorized. 

Act of March 3, 1869 {15 Stats., 315). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy, and for other purposes. 

* * « 

Sec. 6. That until otherwise directed by law there shall be no new 
appointments and no promotions ... in the Ordnance Depart- 
ment. 

May 4, 1870 (i6-575).— Authorizes issues of arms, etc., to certain colleges and 
universities. 

February 2, 1871 (i(5-5P5).— Bergen Heights Arsenal to be sold. 

Matf 15, 1872. — This act establishes rates of pay of enlisted men of the corps from 
and after July 1, 1872. (See sec. 1280, R. S. ) 

Mail 21, 1872 {17-138). — One thousand rifled muskets and 200,000 cartridges to be 
issue(i to the governor of Montana for distribution among settlers of the Gallatin Val- 
ley and other exposed localities. 

Act of June 6, 1872 {17 Stats., 258). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-three, and for other purposes. 

. . . Provided, That this appropriation [for experiments and 
tests of heavy-rifled ordnance] shall be applied to at least three models 
of heavy ordnance, to be designated by a board of officers to be 
appointed by the Secretary of War, which report shall include both 
classes, breex:h and muzzle loading cannon, and the powder and pro- 
jectiles necessary for testing the same shall be supplied from stores on 
hand. 

For constructing and testing Moffat's breech-loading field pieces, 
. . . ; and for testing James Crockefs graduating and accelerating 
cartridge, and for experimenting with patent metallic cartridge of 
Willis E. Moore, and other improvements in ammunition, . . . 
* * «• 

. . . Provided, That no part of this appropriation [manufacture 
of arms I shall be expended until a breech-loading system for muskets 
and carbines shall have been adopted for the military service upon the 

S. Doc. 229 38 



594 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

recommendation of the board to be appointed by the Secretary of War, 
which board shall consist of not less than live officers, as follows: One 
general officer, one ordnance officer, and three officers of the line, one 
to be taken from the cavalry, one from the infantry, and one from the 
artillery: And provided fu'rtlier\ That the system when so adopted, 
shall be the only one to be used by the Ordnance Department in the 
manufacture of muskets and carbines for the military service; and no 
royalty shall be paid by the Government of the United States for the 
use of said patent to any of its officers or employees, or for any patent 
in which said officers or emploj^ees may be directly or indirectly 

interested. 

* * * 

June 10, 1872 [17-380). — Orders sale of the Rome, Champlain, North Carohna, 
Mount Vernon, and Apalachicola arsenals. 

March 3, 1873 {17-543). — Provides for experiments and tests of two Gatling guns 
of large caliber for flank defenses of fortifications, recommended for trial; also of any 
other systems for utilizing and improving the cast-iron guns now in service. 

Act of June 16, 187 Ji- {18 Stats., 7^). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending 
Jmie thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-five, and for other purposes. 

* * -X- 

. . . Provided, That no part of this sum shall be expended at 
said armories [national] in the perfection of patentable inventions in 
the manufacture of arms by officers of the Army otherwise compen- 
sated for their services to the United States. 

* * * 

June 22, 1874 [18-200). — Authorizes sale of obsolete ammunition, balls, and surplus 
of pig lead. 

Act of June "23, 187 If. {18 Stats., 2U)- 

AN ACT reorganizing the several staff corps of the Army. 

* * * 

Sec. 6. That the Ordnance Department shall consist of one Chief of 
Ordnance, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of a brigadier-general; 
three colonels, foiu" lieutenant-colonels, ten majors, twenty captains, 
sixteen first lieutenants; and all vacancies which may hereafter exist 
in the grade of first lieutenant in said department shall be filled by 
transfer from the line of the Army: Provided, That no appointment 
or promotion in said department shall hereafter be made luitil the 
officer or person so appointed or promoted shall have passed a satis- 
factory examination before a board of ordnance officers senior to 
himself. 

Sec. 6. That no officer now in service shall be reduced in rank or 
mustered out by reason of any provision of law herein made reducing 
the number of officers in any department or corps of the stafi". 

Sec. 7. That as vacancies shall occur in any of the grades of the 
Ordnance . . . departments, no appointments shall be made to 
fill the same until the numbers in such grade shall be reduced to the 
numbers which are fixed for permanent appointments by the pro- 
visions of this act, and thereafter the naml)er of permanent officers in 
said grades shall continue to conform to said reduced numbers, and all 



THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 595 

other grades in said Ordnance , . . departments than those author- 
ized by the provisions of this act shall cease to exist as soon as the 
same shall become vacant by death, resignation, or otherwise; and no 
appointment or promotion shall hereafter be made to fill any vacancy 
which may occur therein. 

Sec. S. That so much of section six of an act entitled "An act 
making- appropriations for the support of the Army for the year end- 
ing- June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy, and for other pur- 
poses," approved March third, eighteen hundred and sixty-nine, as 
applies to the Ordnance . . . departments of the Army be, and 
the same is hereby, repealed: Provided., That this section repealing 
said section shall not apply to any of the grades of the Ordnance 
. . . departments which are omitted or abolished by the provisions 
of this act. 

March 3, 1875 {18-375). — Report to be made how many of the arsenals east of the 
Mississippi River can be sold without injury to the service; an officer of ordnance to 
be detailed as memlier of a board to conduct experiments in testing iron and steel. 

Mitrcli 3, 1875 {18-452) . — None of the money appropriated by this act for the ord- 
nance service shall be expended for the construction or repair of buildings. No 
money to be expended hereafter at national armories in the perfection of patentable 
inventions, by officers of the Army, in the manufacture of arms. 

March 3, 1875 {18-510). — Authorizes sale of the Detroit Arsenal. 

April 11, 1876 {19-32). — Authorizes sale of arsenal at Stonington, Conn. 

June 20, 1876 {19-59). — Authorizes sale of all obsolete and condemned projectiles 
for heavy ordnance. 

July 3, 1876 {19-214). — Superseded arms to be issued to Territories and border 
States for protection of citizens; amended by joint resolution of March 3, 18^7 
(19-410), by adding "not to exceed 50 ball cartridges for each arm." 

Aucjud 15, 1876 {19-206). — State of Kansas to be credited for certain ordnance stores 
charged to it, but used by Government officials and never turned over to the State. 

J/rtV 16, 1878 {20-61). — Quota of States not to be diminished by the provision of 
joint resolution of July 3, 1876 (19-214). 

June 7, 1878 {20-252), — Additional arms to be issued to Territories for protection 
of their citizens. 

REVISED STATUTES, 2ND EDITION, 1878. 

* * * 

Sec. 1094. The Army of the United States shall consist of — 

* * * 

An Ordnance Department. 

The enlisted men of the Ordnance Department. 

■X- * * 

A[nJ ordnance sergeant . . . for each military post. 

-X- -x- * 

Sec. 1109. There shall be an ordnance sergeant for each military 
post, whose dut}' it shall be to take care of the ordnance, arms, ammu- 
nition, and other military stores at such post, under the direction of 
the conunanding officer, and according to regulations prescribed by 
tiie Secretary of War. 

Sec. 1110. Ordnance sergeants shall be selected by the Secretary of 
War from the sergeants of the line who shall have served faithfully 
foi- eight 3'ears, including four years in the grade of noncommissioned 
officer, and shall be assigned to their stations by him. 



596 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENEEAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Sec. 1159. The Ordnance Department of the Army shall consist of 
one Chief of Ordnance, with the rank of brigadier-general, three 
colonels, four lieutenant-colonels, ten majors, twenty captains, sixteen 
first lieutenants, ten second lieutenants, and thirteen ordnance store- 
keepers. The ordnance storekeeper at Springfield Armory shall have 
the rank of major of cavalry; all other ordnance storekeepers shall 
have the rank of captain of cavalry. 

Sec. 1160. No officer of the Army shall be commissioned as an ord- 
nance officer until he shall have been examined and approved ])y a 
board of not less than three ordnance officers, senior to him in rank. 
If an officer of the Army fail on such examination he shall be suspended 
from appointment for one year, when he may be reexamined before a 
like board. In case of failure on such reexamination, he shall not be 
commissioned as an ordnance officer. 

Sec. 1161. Any number, not exceeding six, of the ordnance store- 
keepers may be authorized to act as paymasters at armories and 
arsenals. 

Sec. 1162. The Chief of Ordnance may enlist as many sergeants of 
ordnance, corporals of ordnance, and first and second class privates of 
ordnance as the Secretary of War may direct. Master armorers, mas- 
ter carriage makers, and master blacksmiths shall be designated and 
mustered as sergeants; armorers, carriage makers, and blacksmiths 
shall be designated and mustered as corporals; artificers shall be desig- 
nated and mustered as privates of the first class, and laborers as privates 
of the second class. 

Sec. 1163. The Chief of Ordnance, subject to the approval of the 
Secretary of War, shall organize and detail to regiments, corps, or 
garrisons such numbers of ordnance enlisted men, furnished with 
proper tools, carriages, and apparatus, as may be necessary, and shall 
make regulations for their government. 

Sec. 1164. It shall be the duty of the Chief of Ordnance to furnish 
estimates, and, under the direction of the Secretary of War, to make 
contracts and purchases for procuring the necessary supplies of ord- 
nance and ordnance stores for the use of the armies of the United 
States; to direct the inspection and proving the same, and to direct 
the construction of all cannon and carriages, ammunition wagons, 
traveling forges, artificers' wagons, and of every implement and appa- 
ratus for ordnance, and the preparation of all kinds of ammunition 
and ordnance stores constructed or prepared for said service. 

Sec. 1165. The Chief of Ordnance, under the direction of the Sec- 
retary of Wai , may establish depots of ordnance and ordnance stores 
in such parts of the United States, and in such numbers, as ma}^ be 
deemed necessary. 

Sec. 1166. The Chief of Ordnance, or the senior officer of the corps 
for any district, shall execute all orders of the Secretary of War, and, 
in time of war, the orders of any general or field officer commanding 
an army, garrison, or detachment for the supply of all ordnance and 
ordnance stores for garrison, field, or siege service. 

Sec. 1167. The Chief of Ordnance shall, half yearly, or oftener if 
so directed, make a report to the Secretar}^ of War of all the officers, 
artificers, and laborers in his department of the service, and of all 
ordnance and ordnance stores under his control. Every officer of the 
Ordnance Department, every ordnance storekeeper, ever}^ post ord- 
nance sergeant, each keeper of magazines, arsenals, and armories, 
every assistant and deputy of such, and all other officers, agent, or 



THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 597 

persons who shall have received or may be entrusted with any stores 
or supplies, shall quarterly, or oftener, if so directed, and in such 
manner and on such forms as may be directed or prescribed by the 
Chief of Ordnance, make true and correct returns to the Chief of Ord- 
nance of all ordnance arms, ordnance stores, and all other supplies 
and property of every kind received by or entrusted to them and each 
of them^ or which may in any manner come into their and each of 
their possession or charge. The Chief of Ordnance, subject to the 
approval of the Secretary of War, is hereby authorized and directed 
to draw up and enforce in his department a system of rules and regu- 
lations for tho government of the Ordnance Department, and of all 
persons in said department, and for the safe-keeping and preservation 
of all ordnance property of every kind, and to direct and prescribe the 
time, number, and forms of all returns and reports, and to enforce 
compliance therewith. 

* * * 

Sec. 1191. . . . all storekeepers shall, before entering upon the 
duties of their respective offices, give good and sufficient bonds to the 
United States, in such sums as the Secretary of War may direct, faith- 
fulh^ to account for all public moneys and property which they may 
receive. The President may at any time increase the sums so pre- 
scribed. . . . 

* • * * 

Sec. 1193. The . . . Chief of Ordnance . . . shall be 
appointed by selection from the corps to which they belong. 

Sec. 1194. Until otherwise directed by law there shall be no new 
appointments and no promotions in the . . . Ordnance . . . ■ 

departments. 

* * * 

Sec. 1207. When any lieutenant of the . . . Ordnance Corps 
has served fourteen years' continuous service as lieutenant, he shall 
be promoted to the rank of captain, on passing the examination pro- 
vided by the preceding section, but such promotion shall not authorize 
an appointment to till any vacancy when such appointment would 
increase the whole number of officers in the corps beyond the number 
fixed by law; nor shall any officer be promoted before officers of the 
same grade who rank him in his corps. 

Sec. 1208. When promotions in the Ordnance Department of the 
Army are allowed by law, no officer of the corps below the rank of 
field officer shall be promoted to a higher grade until he shall have 
been examined and approved by a lioard of not less than three oi*d- 
nance officers senior to him in rank. If an ordnance officer fail on 
such examination, he shall be suspended from promotion for one year, 
when he shall be reexamined before a like board. In case of failure 
on such reexamination, he shall be dismissed from the service. 

vr -X- * 

Sec. 1220. Every officer commanding a regiment, corps, garrison, 
or detachment shall make, once every two months, or oftener if so 
directed, a report to the Chief of Ordnance, stating all damages to 
arms, equipments, and implements belonging to his command, noting 
those occasioned ])y negligence or abuse, and naming the officer or sol- 
dier by whose negligence or abuse the said damages were occasioned. 



598 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Sec. 1241. The President may cause to be sold any military stores 
which, upon proper inspection and survey, appear to be damaged or 
unsuitable for the public service. Such inspection or survey shall be 
made by officers designated by the Secretary of War, and the sales 
shall be made under the regulations prescribed by him. 
-» * * 

Sec. 1279. . . . The principal assistant in the Ordnance Bureau 
shall receive a compensation, including pay and emoluments, not 
exceeding that of a major of ordnance. 

Sec. 1280, The monthly pay of the following enlisted men of the 
Army shall, during their iirst term of enlistment, be as follows, with 
the contingent additions thereto hereinafter provided: 

* * * 

Ordnance sergeants of posts, thirty-four dollars. 

* * * 

Sergeants of . . . ordnance, thirty-four dollars. 
Corporals of . . . ordnance, twentv dollars. 

■X- -x- * 

Privates (first class) of . . . ordnance, seventeen dollars. 
Privates (second class) of . . . ordnance, thirteen dollars. 

■X- * -X- 

Section 1281 adds $1 per month for each of the third, fourtli, and fifth year of first 
enlistment, and section 1282 fixes pay of men reenlisting at rate of third year of first 
term. 

* -X- -X- 

Sec. 1293. Sergeants and corporals of ordnance shall be entitled to 
receive one ration and a half daily. Other enli.sted men shall be enti- 
tled to receive one ration daily. 

-X- ■X- * 

Sec. 1297. No allowance of clothing shall be made to sergeants of 
ordnance. 

■X- -X- * 

Sec. 1304. In case of deficiency of any articles of military supplies or of damage to 
such supplies, the value of the deficient articles or that of the damage to he charged 
against the officer responsible, unless he can show that the deficiency or damage was 
not occasioned by any fault on his part. 

■X- -x- * 

Sec. 1662. At each arsenal there shall be established a national, 
armory, in which there shall be employed one superintendent, who 
shall be an officer of the Ordnance Department, to be designated by 
the President; one master armorer, who shall be appointed by the 
President, and as many workmen as the Secretary of War may from 
time to time deem necessary. 

Sec. 1663. The ordnance officer iu charge of any national armory 
shall receive no compensation other than his regular pay as an officer 
of the corps; the master armorers shall receive fifteen hundred dollars 
per aniuun each; the inspectors and clerks each eight hundred dollars 
per anmuu, except the clerks of the armory at Springfield, Massa- 
chusetts, who may receive, at the discretion of the Secretary' of War, 
twelve hundred dollars per annum. 

Sec. 1661. The several compensations fixed by the preceding section 
for master armorers and inspectors shajl he paid quarter 3'early. All 
militar}' storekeepers and paymasters shall gi\e bond and security for 



THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 599 

the faithful discharge of their duties, in such sums as ma,y be prescribed 
by the Secretary of War. 

Sec. 1665. An annual account of the expenses of the national 
armories shall be laid before Congress, together with an account of 
the arms made and repaired therein. 

Sec. 1666. The Secretary of War is authorized to al)olish such of 
the arsenals of the United States as, in his judgment, may be useless 

or unnecessary. 

* * * 

Sec. 1672. The breech-loading system for muskets and carbines adopted bj' the 
Secretary of War, known as "the Springfield breech-loading system," is the only 
system to be used by the Ordnance Department in the manufacture of muskets and 
carbines for the military service. 

Sec. 1673. No royalty shall be paid by the United States to any one of its officers 
or employees for the use of any patent for the system, or any part thereof, mentioned 
in the preceding section, nor for any such patent in which said officers or employees 
may be directly or indirectly interested. 

* -x- * 

Sec. 3480. Forbids payment of accounts, claims, etc., against the United States 
which accrued or existed prior to April 13, 1860, in favor of disloyal persons; this 
not to api)ly to claims assigned to loyal creditors of such persons in payment of debts 
incurred prior to March 1, 1861. 

-X- -X- * 

Sec. 3714. All purchases and contracts for supplies or services for 
the military . . . service shall be made by or under the direction 
of the chief officers of the Department of War. . . . And all 
agents or contractors for supplies or service as aforesaid shall render 
their accounts for settlement to the accountant of the proper depart- 
ment for which such supplies or services are required, subject, never- 
theless, to the inspection and revision of the officers of the Treasury. 

* * * 

Sec. 3732. No contract or purchase on behalf of the United States 
shall be made unless the same is authorized by law or is under an 
appropriation adequate to its fulfillment. . . . 

* * * 

Sec. 3747. Secretary of War to furnish officers, appointed by him to make con- 
tracts, wath a printed letter of instructions and blank forms of contracts, affidavits 
of returns, etc., to secure uniformity in such instruments. 

* * * 



STATUTES AT LARGE. 

Act of March 2S, 1878 (20 Stats., 31). 

AN ACT making appropriations for fortifications and for other works of defence, and 
for the armament thereof, for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hun- 
dred and seventy-nine, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

. . . Provided., That the money herein appropriated for torpe- 
does shall only be used in the establishment and maintenance of tor- 
pedoes to l^e operated from shore stations for the destruction of an 
enemy's vessel approaching the shore or entering the channel and fair- 
ways of harbors. 

June 23, 1879 {21-30). — None of the money appropriated for the ordnance service 
shall be expended for any use not strictly connected with the military service of the 
Government, this restriction to apply to the use of public animals, forage, and 
vehicles. 



600 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

December 19, 1879 {21-299). — Authorizes lease of buildings, etc., of the Charleston 
Arsenal. 

January 7, 1881 {21-314)- — Authorizes purchase of land to enlarge the San Antonio 
Arsenal. 

March 3, 1881 {21-468). — Two ordnance officers to be detailed as members of a board 
to examine all inventions of heavy ordnance and improvements of heavy ordnance 
and projectiles that may be presented to it. 

Secretary of War authorized to exchange the unserviceable and unsuitable powder 
and shot on hand for new powder and projectiles, or to sell the same and purchase 
similar articles with the proceeds of the sales. 

Act of May i, 1882 {22 Stats., 52). 
AN ACT to authorize the appointment of an ordnance storekeeper in the Anny. 

That the President is hereby authorized to nominate and, by and 
with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoint an ordnance store- 
keeper in the Ordnance Department of the Army, and all laws incon- 
sistent therewith are hereby suspended for the purposes of this act 
only: Provided^ That prior to his appointment he shall have passed a 
satisfactory examination before a board of ordnance officers. 

May 19, 1882 {22-93). — Two heavy guns and four mortars may be issued, on the 
requisition of the governor of a State bordering on the sea and Gulf coast, and a 
suitable battery for these cannon to be constructed, for instruction and practice of 
the militia in heavy artillery drill: Provided, The State has a permanent camping 
ground for the encampment of the militia not less than six days annually. 

Act of June 30, 1882 (22 Stats., 117). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year end- 
ing June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-five, and for other purposes. 

* «• * 

United States testmg machine. . . . A7id provided further, 
That in making tests for private citizens the officer in charge may 
require pa3'ment in advance, and may use the funds so received in 
making such private tests, making full report thereof to the Chief of 
Ordnance; and the Chief of Ordnance shall give attention to such pro- 
gramme of tests as may be submitted by the American Society of Civil 
Engineers; and the records of such tests shall be furnished said society, 
to be by them published at their own expense. 

«• % * 

August 5, 1882 {22-299). — Master armorer at the Springfield Armory to perform 
the duties of master machinist and his pay increased 1 1,000 per annum. 

Act of July 5, 1884, {^3 Stats., 158). 

AN ACT making appropriations for fortifications and other works of defence, and 
for the armament thereof, for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hun- 
dred and eighty-five, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 2. That hereafter all rifled cannon of any particular material, 
caliber, or kind made at the cost of the United States shall be publicly 
subjected to the proper test, including such rapid tiring as a like gun 
would be likel}^ to be subjected to in actual battle, for the determination 
of the endurance of the same to the satisfaction of the President of the 
United States or such persons as he may select; and he is hereby author- 
ized to select not to exceed live persons, who shall be skilled in such 



THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 601 

matters; and if such guns shall not prove satisfactory they shall not he 
put to use in the Government service. 

Sec. 3. That the Secretary of War . . . are hereby authorized 
to sell to projectors of methods of conversion, for experimental pur- 
poses only, any smooth-bore cannon on hand required by them, at prices 
which shall not be less than have been received from auction sales for 
such articles, and deliver the same, at the cost of the Government, at 
the nearest convenient place for shipment or public transportation, the 
cost of delivery to be deducted from the proceeds of sales, and the bal- 
ance to be covered into the Treasury of the United States. 



Act of March -^ 1885 {23 Stats. ^ J^3Ii). 

AN ACT making appropriations for fortifications and otlier works of defence, and 
for the armament thereof, for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hun- 
dred and eighty-six, and for other purposes. 



And the President of the United States shall appoint a board, of 
which the Secretary of War shall be a member and president, to be 
composed of . . . two [officers] from the Ordnance Corps, . . . 
which board shall examine and report at what ports fortifications or 
other defences are most urgently required, the character and kind of 
defences best adapted for each, with reference to armament, the utili- 
zation of torpedoes, mines, or other defensive appliances. 

For the purchase of movable submarine torpedoes propelled and 
controlled by power operated and transmitted from shore stations as 
may be recommended by the Board of Engineers of the Army of the 
United States and approved Ijy the Secretar}'^ of War. ... 
* * * 

For the armament of seacoast fortifications, including the manufac- 
ture of heavy guns and carriages; for the constructing and testing 
experimental gun carriages; for the purchase and manufacture of a 
multi-charge gun and testing same; for projectiles, gun loaders, fuses, 
powder, and implements, their trial and pi'oof. . . . And not 
exceeding fifteen thousand dollars thereof may be used for the expenses 
of experiments in the use of dynamite or other high-explosive pro- 
jectiles. 

And no type of gun shall be purchased until thoroughly tested and 
found to conform to the requirements of this act. 

Act of May 7, 1888 {25 Stats.. 107). 

AN ACT to authorize the construction of an arsenal for the repair, storage, and dis- 
tribution or ordnance and ordnance stores for the use of the Government of the 
United States at Columbia, Tennessee. 

[Appropriates $200,000] ; and the construction and control of said 
arsenal shall be under the direction of the Secretary of War: Provided., 
That without cost to the United States a sulficient quantity of land 
accepted as suitable and adequate for such arsenal by the Secretar}^ of 
War, and not less than fifty acres. Is conveyed in fee to the United 
States. . . . 



002 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Act of Septemher ^^, 1888 {^5 Stats.. 1^8 T). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year end- 
ing June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-nine, and for other purposes. 
-X- -x- * 

. . . Provided further, That the cost to the Ordnance Department 
of all ordnance and ordnance .stores issued to the States, Territories, 
and District of Columbia, under the act of February twelfth, eighteen 
hundred and eighty-seven, shall be credited to the appropriation for 
" manufacture of arms at national armories." . 

March 2, 1889 {25-825). — Board of Ordnance and Fortification to examine and 
report upon a site or sites for ordnance testing and proving ground. Makes an appro- 
priation for the construction of a counterpoise battery to mount a seacoast rifle gun, 
to be located at point selected by the Board of Ordnance and Fortification and 
erected by the inventor under tlie general direction of the Board; gun to l)e mounted 
thereon, with its fittings, to be furnished by the Ordnance Department of the Navy. 

August 18, 1890 {26-315). — Board of three'officers, one of engineers, one of artillery, 
and one of ordnance, not below rank of lieutenant-colonel, to inquire into the facili- 
ties for producing steel forgings for high-power guns at or near the Pacific coast, in 
the vicinity of the Rock Island Arsenal, the Indianapolis Arsenal, and at some point 
on or near the Gulf coast; also as to the advisability of erecting at those points gun 
factories for finishing and assembling high-power guns. 

Secretary of War authorized to contract for twenty-five 8-inch, fifty 10-inch, and 
twenty-five 12-inch breech-loading single-charge steel guns. 

Last paragraph of act of March 2, 1889 (25-825), amended to authorize the use of 
a 6-inch breech-loading cannon of new pattern in the test of the counterpoise battery. 

Act of September 22, 1888 {25 Stats., 4^9). 

AN ACT making appropriations for fortifications and other works of defense, for the 
armament thereof, for the procurement of heavy ordnance for trial and service, 
and for other purposes. 

That the appropriations hereinafter provided for shall be available 
until expended and shall be expended under the direct supervision of 
a board to consist of the Commanding- General of the Army, an officer 
of engineers, an officer of ordnance, and an officer of artillery, to be 
selected by the Secretary of War, to be called and known as the Board 
of Ordnance and Fortifications. . . . 

-X- -X- -X- 

Sec. 4. For the erection, purchase, or manufacture of the necessary 
buildings and other structures, machinery, tools, and fixtures for an 
army gun factory for finishing and assembling heavy ordnance, to be 
erected at the Watervliet Arsenal, West Troy, New York, seven hun- 
dred thousand dollars: Provided , That not exceeding twenty thousand 
dollars of this siuii may be used for the erection and completion of two 
sets of officers' quarters. 



Act of July 16, 1892' (27 Stats., 174). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year end- 
ing June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-three, and for other purposes. 

* -X- " * 

ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 

* * * 

. . . Provided, That if the Secretary of War shall, upon the 
report of the small-arms board how in session, adopt a new rifle or 

1 Sergeants of ordnance to receive the same allowance of clothing as other sergeants 
in like staff departments. 



THE OKDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 603 

system for rifles for the military service, or for trial with a view to 
such adoption, then this appropriation [$400,000] for manufacture of 
arms at the national armories shall be available for the procurement 
of such arms: l^rovidcd fartJier^ That purchases may be made in open 
market, in the manner common among- l)usiness men, when the aggre- 
gate of the purchase does not exceed two hundred dollars. . . . 

* * * 

July 23, 1892 (27-257). — Authorizes the appointment of a board of army and naval 
officers to report what, in their opinion, is the most available site on the Pacific coast 
or on the rivers and waters thereof, for the erection of a plant for finishing and assem- 
bling the parts of heavy gmis and other ordnance for the use of the Army and Navy. 

Act of July 9.7, 1892 {27 Stats-., 276). 

AN ACT amending the act of October first, eighteen hundred and ninety, entitled 
"An act to provide for the examination of certain officers of the Army and to 
regulate promotions therein." 

* -x- -x- 

Sec. 2. That the examination of oflicers of the . . . Ordnance 
Department who were officers or enlisted men in the regular or vol- 
unteer service, either in the Army, Navy, or the Marine Corps, during' 
the war of the rebellion, shall be conducted by boards composed in the 
same manner as for the examination of other officers of their respective 
corps and department; and the examination shall embrace the same 
subjects prescribed for all other officers of similar grades in the . . . 
Ordnance Departmsnt, respectively. 

July 27, 1892 (27-276). — Specimens of arms, projectiles, etc., used in the battle of 
Gettysburg to be delivered to the Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Association. 

February 27, 1893 (27-478). — No part of appropriation for the manufacture of arms 
at the national armories shall be expended for the manufacture of magazine rifles of 
foreign invention until the examination of similar arms of American invention pre- 
sented within the next thirty days shall have been tested. 

Act of March 29, 189 J^ (J38 Stats., ^7). 
AN ACT to regulate the making of property returns by officers of the Government. 

That instead of forwarding to the accounting officers of theTreasur}^ 
Department returns of public propert}^ intrusted to the possession of 
officers or agents, . . . the Chief of Ordnance, . . . shall 
certif}^ to the proper accounting officer of the Treasury Department, 
for debiting on the proper account, any charge against any officer or 
agent intrusted with public propert}^ arising from any loss, accruing 
by his fault, to the Government as to the property so intrusted to him. 

* -x- * 

August 6, 1894 (28-233). — Appropriation in this act for manufacture of arms appli- 
cable to the manufacture of the magazine arm recommended by the board. Pur- 
chases not exceeding $200 may be made in open market. 

Mnrch 2, 1895 (28-764). — Abolishes section 229, Revised Statutes, requiring annual 
statement of contracts for supplies and services. 

Act of June 6, 1896 (29 Stats., 256).' 

AN ACT making appropriations for fortifications and other works of defense, for the 
armament thereof, for the procurement of heavy ordnance for trial and service, 
and for other purposes. 

* -x- * 

Annament and fm'tif cations: . . . And the ordnance storekeeper 
now on duty in Washington as disl)ursing officer and assistant to the 



004 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Chief of Ordnance, United States Army, shall hereafter have the rank 

of major. 

* * * 

June 11, 1896 {29-413) . — No patented impact testing machine to be erected at the 
Watertown Arsenal, Mass., miless the patentee shall first authorize its use by the Gov- 
ernment without compensation. 

March 3, 1897 {29-641). — No contract for oil-tempered and annealed steel for high- 
power coast-defense guns and mortars to be made at a price exceeding 23 cents per 
pound. 

Resolution of April 1, 1898 {30 Stats., 737). 

JOINT RESOLUTION providing for the temporary admission free of duty of naval 
and military supplies procured abroad. 

That such guns, ammunition, and other . . , military supplies 
as may be purchased abroad by this Government for the national 
defense prior to January lif th, eighteen hundred and ninety-nine, shall 
be admitted at any port of entry in the United States free of duty. 

May 7, 1898 {30-400). — Part of appropriation for the armament of fortifications may 
be used for the purchase of material for steel- wire seacoast guns. 

May 18, 1898 {30-419). — Arms, ammunition, etc., may be issued to the Cuban 
people. 

June 7, 1898 (,?C-455).— Authorizes the Bureau of Ordnance to purchase or make 
contracts for such ordnance and ordnance stores as are neetled for immediate use. 
The act of March 3, 1899 (30-1350) imits above authoritv to March 1, 1900. Again 
extended to June 30, 1901, by act of February 24, 1900 (31—). 

Act of July 7, 1898 {30 Stats., pS). 

AN ACT to suspend the operations of certain provisions of law relating to the War 
Department, and for other purposes. 

* * -X- 

That during the existing war the Bureau of Ordnance of the War 
Department is authorized to purchase without advertisement such ord- 
nance and ordnance stores as are needed for immediate use, and when 
such ordnance and ordnance stores are to be manufactured, then to 
make contracts without advertisement for such stores, to be delivered 
as rapidly as manufactured. 

Act of July 7, 1898 {30 Stats., 720). 
AN ACT to increase the force of the Ordnance Department. 

That section five of an act entitled "An act organizing the several 
stall' corps of the Army." approved fJune twenty-third, eighteen hun- 
dred and seventy-four, be, and the same is hereby, amended so as to 
read as follows : 

"Sec. 5. The Ordnance Department shall consist of one Chief of 
Ordnance, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of a brigadier-general; 
four colonels, five lieutenant-colonels, twelve majors, twenty-four 
captains, and twenty first lieutenants. 

"A chief ordnance ofiicer may be assigned to the staft' of an army or 
a corps commander, and while so assigned shall have the rank, pay, 
and allowance of a lieutenant-colonel. A chief ordnance officer maj^ 
be assigned to tlie stall' of a division commander, and while so assigned 
shall have the rank, pay, and allowances of a major." 



THE OEDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 605 

Act of March 2, 1899 {30 Stats., 977). 

AN ACT for increasing the efficiency of the Army of the United States, and for other 

purposes. 

That from and after the date of approval of this act the Army of 
the United States sliall consist of . . . an Ordnance Department. 
. . . Provided, That when a vacanc}' shall occur through death, 
retirement, or other separation from active service in the office of store- 
keeper in the . . . Ordnance Department . . , now provided 
by law, said office shall cease to exist. 

* * * 

Sec. 7. That the . . . Ordnance Department . . . shall 
consist of the officers and enlisted men now provided by law. . . . 



Act of March 3, 1899' {.30 Stats., 106 J^). 

AN ACT making appropriation for the support of the Eegular and Volunteer Army 
for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred. 

* * * 

Ordnance, ordnance stores, and suppli&i: . . . Provided, The 
Chief of Ordnance is authorized to issue such obsolete or condemned 
ordnance, gun carriages, and ordnance stores as may be needed for 
ornamental purposes to the Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 
the Homes to pay for transportation and such other expenses as are 

necessary. 

* * * 

March 3, 1899 {30-1350).— \]ni\\ March 1, 1900, Bureau of Ordnance may make 
purchases and contracts without advertisement; suspends provisions of law relative 
to payment of employees. 

February 24, 1900 {31- ). — Provisions of act of March 3, 1899, extended until 
June 30, 1901; war material may be purchased abroad and admitted free of duty. 

May 26, 1900 {31- ). — Authorizes issue of obsolete or condemned ordnance gun 
carriages and ordnance stores to Homes for Disabled Volunteers for ornamental pur- 
poses, the Homes to pay transportation. 

Act of February 2, 1901 {31 Stats., —). 

AN ACT to increase the efficiency of the permanent military establishment of the 

United States. 

That from and after the approval of this act the Army of the United 
States . . . shall consist of . . . an Ordnance Department 
. . . Provided, That when a vacancy shall occur through death, 
retirement, or other separation from active service in the office of 
storekeeper, now provided for by law in the . . . Ordnance 
Department . . . said office shall cease to exist. 

-X- -X- * 

Sec. 23. That the Ordnance Department shall consist of one Chief 
of Ordnance with the rank of brigadier-general, four colonels, six 
lieutenant-colonels, twelve majors, twenty-four captains, and twenty- 

^ Authorizes replacement of the ordnance and ordnance stores which volunteers 
carried into the service of the United States during the war with Spain and which 
have been retained by the Government. 



606 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

four first lieutenants, the ordnance storekeeper, and the enlisted men, 
including' ordnance sergeants, as now authorized by law. All vacancies 
created or caused by this section shall, as far as possible, be filled by 
promotion according to seniority as now prescribed by law. 

* -X- -X- 

Sec. 26. That so long as there remain any officers holding perma- 
nent appointments in the . . . Ordnance Department, . . . 
including those appointed to orig'inal vacancies in the grades of captain 
and first lieutenant under the provisions of sections sixteen, seventeen, 
twenty-one, and twenty-four of this act, they shall be promoted 
according to seniority in the several grades, as now provided by law, 
and nothing herein contained shall be deemed to apply to vacancies 
which can be filled by such promotions or to the periods for which the 
officers so promoted shall hold their appointments, and when any 
vacancy, except that of the chief of the department or corps, shall 
occur which can not be filled by promotion as provided in this section 
it shall be filled ])y detail from the line of the Army, and no more 
permanent appointments shall be made in those departments or corps 
after the original vacancies created liy this act shall have been filled. 
Such details shall be made from the grade in which the vacancies 
exist, under such system of examination as the President ma}^ from 
time to time prescribe. 

All officers so detailed shall serve for a period of four years, at the 
expiration of which time they shall return to dut}^ with the line, and 
officers below the rank of lieutenant-colonel shall not again be eligible 
for selection in any staff' department until they shall have served two 
years with the line. 

That when vacancies shall occur in the position of chief of any staff 
corps or department the President may appoint to such vacancies, by 
and with the advice and consent of the Senate, officers of the Army at 
large not below the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and who shall hold office 
for terms of four j^ears. When a vacancy in the position of chief of any 
staff" corps or department is filled by the appointment of an officer 
below the rank now provided b}^ law for said office, said chief shall, 
while so serving, have the same rank, pay, and allowances now pro- 
vided for the chief of such corps or department. And any officer now 
holding office in any corps or department who shall hereafter serve as 
chief of a staff' corps or department and shall subsequently be retired, 
shall be retired with the rank, pa}^ and allowances authorized by law 
for the retirement of such corps or department chief: Provided, That 
so long as there remain in service officers of any staff corps or depart- 
ment holding permanent appointments the chief of such staff' corps or 
department shall l)e selected from the officers so remaining therein. 

Sec. 27. That each position vacated by officers of the line, trans- 
ferred to any department of the staff' for tours of service under this 
act, shall be filled by promotion in the line until the total number 
detailed equals the number authorized for duty in each staff' depart- 
ment. Thereafter vacancies caused b}^ details from the line to the 
staff shall be filled by officers returning from tours of staff' duty. If 
under the operation of this act the number of officers returned to any 
particular arm of the service at any time exceeds the number authorized 
by law in any grade, promotions to that grade shall cease until the 
number has been reduced to that authorized. 



THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 607 

Act of March 3, IDOl {31 Stats., —). 

AN ACT making appropriation for the support of the Army for the year ending 
Jnne thirtieth, nineteen hunih-ed and two. 
* -X- * 

Provided, That no part of the ap):)ro])riations made for the Ordnance 
Department shall Ix^ used in i)ayment of freight charges on ordnance or 
ordnance stores issued by said department. 



XI -THE SIGNAL CORPS. 



S. Doc. 22t( 39 609 



THE SIGNAL CORPS. 



The Signal Corps owes its origin to Maj. Albert J. Myer, who 
entered the Army in 1854 as an assistant surgeon, and whose active 
interest in sign language was manifested by its development, in 1856, 
into a system of signal communication which, attracting at tirst little 
or no attention, was two years later submitted to a military board con- 
vened for its consideration. It was not, however, until June 21, 1860, 
that Congress authorized the addition to the staff of the Army of one 
signal officer, with the rank and pay of a major of cavalry. The 
"Signal Corps" was organized by the act of March 3, 1863. 

June 27, I860.— Maj. Albert J. Myer (New York), Signal Officer. 

Mar. 3, 1863.— Col. Albert J. Myer (New York), Chief Signal Officer. 

Dec. 3, 1864. — Col. (Bvt. Brig. Gen.) Benjamin F. Fisher (Pennsylvania). 

July 28, 1866.— Col. (Brig. Gen., June 16, 1880) Albert J. Myer (New York). 

Dec. 15, 1880.— Brig. Gen. William B. Hazen (Ohio). 

Mar. 3, 1887. — Brig. Gen. Adolphus W. Greely (Louisiana). 

Note. — Colonel Myer was relieved from the command of the Corps November 10, 
1S63, and ordered to the Mississippi. He turned over the Bureau to Lieut. Col. 
William J. L. Nicodemus (Maryland) . 

611 



THE SIGNAL (ORPS. 



STATUTES AT LARGE. 

Act of June 31, ISGO {12 SU/f.s., 6/,). 

AN ACT making appropriations fur tlie support of the Army for the year ending the 
thirtieth of Jnne, one thousand eiglit hundred and sixty-one. 

. . . That there be added to the stafl' of the Arni}'^ one signal 
officer, with the rank, pay, and allowances of a major of cavalry, who 
shall have charge, under the direction of the Secretar}^ of War, of 
all signal diit}^ and of all books, papers, and apparatus connected 

therewith. 

* * * 

February 22, 1862 [12-344)- — Officers detailed as signal officers to receive, during 
such service, pay, etc., of cavalry officeivs of their respective grades. 

June 2, 1862 {12-411). — Secretary of War to furnish officers appointed by him to 
make contracts, with a printed letter of instructions and blank forms of contracts, 
affidavits of returns, etc., to secure uniformity in such instruments. 

Act of March 3, 18G3 (12 Stats., 7U)- 

AN ACT making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the 
year ending June thirty, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, and for the year ending 
the 30 (th) of June, 1863, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

Sec. 17. That the Signal Corps of the Army shall, during the pres- 
ent rebellion, be organized as follows: There shall be one Chief Signal 
Officer, a colonel, who shall be Signal Officer of the Army; one lieuten- 
ant-colonel; two majors, who shall be inspectors; and for each army 
corps or militarj^ department there shall be one captain and as many 
lieutenants, not exceeding eight, as the President may deem necessary, 
to be appointed b}^ the President, by and with the advice and consent 
of the Senate, who shall receive the pay and emoluments of cavalry 
officers of similar grades; and for each officer of the Signal Corps there 
may be enlisted or detailed one sergeant and six privates, who shall 
receive the pay of similar grades of engineer soldiers: Proirided, That 
no officer or enlisted man shall be allowed to serve in the Signal Corps 
until he shall have been examined and approved by a military board, 
to be convened for that purpose hy the Secretarj' of War. 

Sec. 18. That the officers and enlisted men herein provided for 
shall be subject to the Rules and Articles of War. They may be 
mounted upon horses, the property of the United States, and shall 
serve in any militarv department or with any forces to which they 

013 



614 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

may be ordered. And officers of the Army who may be appointed in 
this corps may, after the rebellion, be restored to their respective 
regiments or corps and receive the same rank and promotion as if 
they had continued to serve therein. 

Sec. 19. That ... in selecting officers and men for the organ- 
ization of the Signal Corps, as herein provided, preference shall be 
given to such as have served faithfull}^ or as are now serving in the 
acting Signal Corps of the Army. 

Sec. 20. That, in order to allow time for their thorough examina- 
tion, the President may appoint the officers authorized by this act 
during the recess of Congress, which appointments shall be submitted 
to the Senate at their next session for their advice and consent. 



Act of July 28, 1866 {11^ Stats., 332). 
AN ACT to increase and fix the military peace establishment of the United States. 



Sec. 22. That there shall be one Chief Signal Officer of the Army, 
who shall have the rank, pay, and emoluments of a colonel of cavalry, 
and the Secretary of War have power to detail six officers and not to 
exceed one hundred noncommissioned officers and privates from the 
Battalion of Engineers for the performance of signal duty; but no offi- 
cer or enlisted man shall be so detailed until he shall have been exam- 
ined and approved by a military board, to be convened by the Secretary 
of War for that purpose; and enlisted meu, while so detailed, shall, 
when deemed necessary, be mounted upon horses provided by the 
Government. 

* -X- -55- 

February 18, 1867 (14-395). — The ofiicers and men of the Signal Corps who per- 
formed duty on the fleet under Admiral Farragut in the action in Mobile Bay, 
August 5, 1864, to receive such sums, as prize money, as will be equal to what has 
been allowed to officers and sailors of the Navy of corresponding rank. 

Resolution of February ,9, 1870 {16 Stats., 369). 

That the Secretary of War be, and he hereby is, authorized and 
required to provide for taking meteorological observations at the mili- 
tary stations in the interior of the continent and at other points in the 
States and Territories of the United States, and for giving notice on 
the northern lakes and on the seacoast, by magnetic telegraph and 
marine signals, of the approach and force of storms. 

Act of June 10, 1872 {17 Stats., 3P). 

AN ACT making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the 
fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen huudj-ed and seventy-three, and for 
other purposes. 

* * x- 

. . . That the Secretary of War be, and he hereb}^ is, authorized 
and required to provide, in the system of observations and reports in 
charge of the Chief Signal Officer of the Army, for such stations, 
reports, and signals as may be found necessary for the benefit of 
agricultural and connnercial interests. . . . 



THE SIGNAL CORPS. 615 

Act of March 3, 1873 {17 Stats., 510). 

AN ACT making apj:)ropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for 
the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-four, and for 
other purposes. 

* * * 

. . . That the Secretary of War be, and hereby is, authorized to 
establish signal stations at light-houses at such of the life-saving sta- 
tions on the lake or sea coasts as may be suitably located for that pur- 
pose, and to connect the same with such points as maj^ be necessar}^ 
for the proper discharge of the signal service b}^ means of a suitable 
telegraph line in cases where no telegraph lines are in operation, to be 
constructed, maintained, and worked under the direction of the Chief 
Signal Officer of the Army or the vSecretary of War and the Secre- 
tary of the Treasury; and the use of the life-saving stations as signal 
stations shall be subject to such regulations as may be agreed upon b}^ 
said officials. . . . 

■X- * * 

. . . That the Chief Signal Officer may cause to be sold any sur- 
plus maps or publications of the Signal Office, the money received 
therefor to be applied towards defraying the expenses of the Signal 
Service, an account of the same to be rendered in each annual report 
of the Chief of the Signal Service. 



Act of March 3, 1876 {18 Stats., 371). 

AN ACT making ai^propriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for 
the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-six, and for 
other purposes. 

* -x- ■;:■ 

. . . And a full report of the receipts and expenditures in con- 
nection with the said telegraph lines [on the Indian and Mexican fron- 
tiers and for the connection of military posts and stations, for the 
better protection of immigration and the frontier settlements from 
depredations, especially in the State of Texas, the Territories of New 
Mexico, Arizona, and the Indian Territory] shall be made quarterly to 
the Secretar}^ of War through the Chief Signal Officer. And the Chief 
Signal Officer shall have the charge and control of said lines of tele- 
graph in the construction, repair, and operation of the same. 



Act of July U, 1876 {19 Stats., 97). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-seven, and for other purposes. 

* -X- * 

. . . Nothing, however, in this act shall be construed to prevent 
enlistments for the Signal Service, w^hich shall hereafter be maintained 
as now organized, and as provided by law wnth a force of enlisted men 
not exceeding four hundred after present terms of enlistment have 
expired. 

* vr * 



616 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

REVISED STATUTES, 2ND EDITION, 1878. 
* * * 

Sec. 221. The Secretary of War shall provide for taking meteoro- 
logical observations at the military stations in the interior of the con- 
tinent and at other points in the States and Territories, and for giving 
notice on the northern lakes and seacoast, by magnetic telegraph and 
marine signals, of the approach and force of storms. 

Sec. 222. The Secretary of War shall provide, in the system of 
observations and reports in charge of the Chief Signal Officer of the 
Arm}^ for such stations, reports, and signals as maj^ be found necessary 
for the benefit of agriculture and commerce. 

Sec. 223. The Secretary of War is authorized to establish signal 
stations at light-houses and at such of the life-saving stations on the 
lake or sea coast as may be suitably located for that purpose, and to 
connect the same with such points as ma}" be necessar}^ for the proper 
discharge of the signal service ])y means of a suitable telegraph line 
in cases where no lines are in operation, to be constructed, maintained, 
and worked under the direction of the Chief Signal Officer of the 
Army or the Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Treasury; 
and the use of the life-saving stations as signal stations shall be subject 
to such regulations as may be agreed upon by said officials. 

•X- * -X- 

Sec. 227. The Chief Signal Officer may cause to be sold anj" surplus 
maps or publications of the Signal Office, the money received therefor 
to be applied toward defraying the expenses of the Signal Service, and 
an account of the same shall be rendered in each annual report of the 
Chief of the Signal Service. 

* * * 

Sec. 1094. The Army of the United States shall consist of — 

* * * 

A Chief Signal Officer. 

-X- * * 

Sec. 1195. There shall be one Chief Signal Officer, with the rank of 
colonel of cavalry, who shall have charge, under the direction of the 
Secretary of War, of all signal duty, and of all books, papers, and 
apparatus connected therewith. 

Sec. 1196. The Secretary of War ma}" detail six officers from the 
Corps of Engineers, and any number of noncommissioned officers and 
privates, not exceeding one hundred, from the battalion of engineers, 
for the performance of signal duty; but no officer or enlisted man 
shall be so detailed until he shall have been examined and approved by 
a military board convened by the Secretary of War. 

Sec. 1197. Enlisted men detailed for signal duty shall, when it is 
deemed necessary, be mounted on horses provided by the Government. 

* * -x- 

Sec. 1241. The President may cause to be sold any militarv stores 
which, upon proper inspection or survey, appear to be damaged or 
unsuitable for the public service. Such inspection or survey shall be 
made by officers designated by the Secretary of War, and the sales 
shall be made under regulations prescribed by him. 



THE SIGNAL CORPS. 617 

Sec. 1304. In case of deficiency of any article of military supplies, or of damage to 
such supplies, the value of the deficient articles or that of the damage, to be charged 
again.'it the responsible ofticer unless he can show that the deficiency or damage was 
nut occasioned by any fault on his part. 

■/: * -x- 

Sec. 3714. All purchases and coutracts for supplies or services for 
the military . . , service shall be made by or under the direction 
of the chief officers of the Department of War, . . . and all 
agents or contractors for supplies or service as aforesaid shall render 
their accounts for settlement to the accountant of the proper depart- 
ment for which such supplies or services are required, subject, 
nevertheless, to the inspection and revision of the officers of the 
Treasurv. • . . 



Sec. 3732. No contract or purchase on behalf of the United States 
shall be made unless the same is authorized b}^ law or is under an 
appropriation adequate to its fultillment. 

* * * 

Sec. 3747. Secretary of War to furnish officers appointed by him to make contracts, 
with a jirinted letter of instructions and lilank forms of contracts, affidavits of returns, 
etc., to secure uniformity in such instnunents. 



STATUTES AT LARGE. 

Act of June 20, 187S {W StMs., 206). 

AN ACT making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for 
the year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventj'-nine, and for other 
purposes. 

* * * 

SIGNAL SERVICE. 

And the enlisted force of the Signal Corps shall consist of 
one hundred and fifty sergeants, thirty corporals, and two hundred 
and seventy privates, who shall receive the pay of engineer soldiers of 
similar grades; and two sergeants may, in each year, be appointed to 
be second lieutenants: Prmiided., Signal Service men shall not receive 
extra-dut}' pay unless specially directed by the Secretary of War. 

* % * 

. Provided, Jicnvever, That private dispatches of lawful nature 
may be transmitted over said lines [from Bismarck to Fort Ellis, via 
the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers, comiecting Fort Buford, Fort 
Keogh, and Fort Custer, and from Fort Sully to Fort Keogh, via 
Deadwood] w^henever the same is not needed for public use, at rea- 
sonable I'ates, not to exceed the usual rates charged by private tele- 
graph companies, the proceeds thereof to be accounted for and paid 
into the Treasury of the United States; and the said telegraph line 
shall be maintained and operated under such proper rules and orders 
as the Secretary of War may direct for the benefit of the public 
service. 



618 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 
Act of June 16, 1880 {n Stats., 259). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the sundry civil expenses of the Government 

for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-one, and for 

other purposes. 

* -x- * 

SIGNAL, SERVICE. 



. There shall be added to the Signal Corps lift}^ privates; 
and from and after the passage of this act the Chief Signal Officer 
shall have the rank and pay of a brigadier-general. 



Act of August 7, 1882 {22 Stats., 302). 

AN ACT making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for 
the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundi-ed and eighty-three, and for 
other i^urposes. 

SIGNAL SERVICE. 

-X- * * 

. Provided, That the work of no other department, bureau, 
or commission authorized by law shall be duplicated by this Bureau: 
Provided furtlier. That nothing herein contained shall restrict the 
performance of all duties of the Signal Service Bureau prescribed by 
existing laws. 



Act of March 3, 1883 {22 Stats., 603). 

AN ACT making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for 
the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-four, and for 
other purposes. 

SIGNAL SERVICE. 

* -X- -X- 

. . Provided, That on and after the first day of July, eighteen 
hundred and eighty-three, all moneys received for the transmission 
of private dispatches over any and all telegraph lines owned or oper- 
ated hy the United States shall be paid into the Treasury of the 
United States, . . . 

•X- * * 

. . . And the Secretary of War is authorized, in his discretion, 
to detail for the service in the Signal Corps not to exceed ten com- 
missioned officers, exclusive of the second lieutenants of the Signal 
Corps authorized by law, and exclusive of officers detailed for Arctic 
Sea service. 



Resolution of June 11, 188 J^ {23 Stats., 27 Ji). 

JOINT RESOLUTION authorizing the President of the United States to appoint, 
from the sergeants of the Signal Corps two second lieutenants. 

Whereas th(^ promotion of two sergeants of the Signal Corps to l)e 
second lieutenants not having been made for the year ending Juno 



THE SIGNAL CORPS. 619 

thirtieth, eig-hteeii hundred and eighty-one, as authorized l)y law, 
because of a pending question as to the construction thereof: There- 
fore, 

Resolved hy the Seriate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of Ameriea in Congress assemhled^ That the President of the 
United States be, and hereby is, authorized to appoint from the ser- 
geants of the Signal Corps the two second lieutenants for that year, to 
rank from the date of appointment, the same as if the power to appoint 
had not lapsed. 

Act of July 7, 188 J^ (3S Stats., 194.). 

AN ACT making appropriations for sinidry civil expenses of tlie Government for the 
fiscal year ending June thirtietli, eighteen hundred and eighty-five, and for other 

purposes. 

* -x- * 

SIGNAL SERVICE. 

* x- * 

. . . And the Secretary of War is authorized, in his discretion, 
to detail for the service in the Signal Corps not to exceed six commis- 
sioned officers, exclusive of the second lieutenants of the Signal Corps 
authorized b}^ law, and of the three officers serving in the Arctic Seas. 

-X- -X- -X- 

That a joint commission, consisting of three Senators to be appointed 
by the President of the Senate, and three members of the House, to be 
appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, shall con- 
sider the present organizations of the Signal Service, . . . with 
the view to secure greater efficiency and economy of administration of 
the public service in said bureaus; and said joint commission shall 
report to their respective Houses on or before the third Monday in 
December, eighteen hundred and eighty-four, their conclusions, by bill 
or report. 



Act of March S, 1885' {23 Stats., 4,78). 

AN ACT making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the 
fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-six, and for other 
purposes. 

* -X- * 

SIGNAL SERVICE. 

* -x- * 

. . . Prcnyided, That thereafter the work of no other department, 
bureau, or commission authorized \y\ law shall be duplicated ])y this 
Bureau. 

* * -X- 

. . . And the Secretary of War is authorized, in his discretion, 
to detail for the service in the Signal Corps not to exceed four com- 
missioned officers, exclusive of the second lieutenants of the Signal 
Corps authorized by law, and of the officers latelj^ serving in the 

Arctic seas. 

-X- -x- * 

^ This act also continued the joint commission created by act of July 7, 1884, and 
required it to report to Congress on or before the third Monday in December, 1885. 



620 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Act of Amju^t 4, 1HS6 {2J^ Stats., 223). 

AN ACT making appropriations for sundry I'ivil expenses of the Government for the 
fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-seven, and for other 
purposes. 

* •■k * 

SIGNAL SERVICE. 



PAY. 

. . . And the Secretary of War is authorized, in his discretion, 
to detail for the service in the Signal Corps not to exceed live com- 
missioned officers, exclusive of the second lieutenants of the Signal 
Corps authorized by law; and no money herein appropriated shall be 
used for pay and allowances of second lieutenants appointed or to be 
appointed from the sergeants of the Signal Corps under the provisions 
of the act approved June twentieth, eighteen hundred and seventy- 
eight, in excess of the number of sixteen, or for the pay and allowances 
of exceeding four hundred and seventy enlisted men of the Signal 
Corps; and in reducing the force the enlisted men at Fort IVfyer, Vir- 
ginia, denoted the ''permanent party," shall hrst be nmstered out: 
Provided., That this restriction shall not apply to the pay or commu- 
tation or expense of return from their stations to their homes of any 
enlisted men in excess of the four hundred and seventy men, ac^cruing 
prior to the passage of this act. 

* * * 

That no part of the appropriations made for the Signal Service bv 
this act shall be used for the maintenance or support of a school of 
instruction nor of the militarv post at Fort Myer, Virginia.^ 

* -X- * 

February 17, 1887 {24-405). — A mihtary telegraph from Point Jupiter to Sanford, 
on the eastern coast of Florida, to be constructed, maintained, and operated under 
the direction and control of the Secretary of War, in connection with the establish- 
ment of signal and display stations. 

Act of March 3, 1887 {U Stats., r,09). 

AN ACT making appropriations for sundry <uvil expenses of tlie Government for the 
fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hmidred and eighty-eight, and for other 
purposes. 

* * * 

SIGNAL SERVICE. 



. . . And the Secretary of War is authorized, in his discretion, 
to detail for the service in the Signal Corps not to exceed live com- 
missioned officers of the Regular Army, to be exclusive of the second 
lieutenants of the Signal Corps authorized by law. . . . 

And no money herein appropriated shall be used for pay and allow- 
ances of second lieutenants appointed or to be appointed from the ser- 
geants of the Signal Corps under the provisions of the act approved 

^ Extra pay is granted to thirteen enlisted men of the Signal Corps at Fort Myer, Va. 



THE SIGNAL CORPS. 621 

June twentieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-eight, in excess of the 
number of sixteen, or for the pay and allowances of exceeding- four 
hundred and seventy enlisted men of the Signal Corps. 

* * * 

March 5, 18S8 {^,5-44) ■ — Autliorizes purchase of site iu Washington for a building 
for the use of the Signal Bureau. 

Act of Octoher 2, 1888 {^26 Stats., 605). 

AN ACT making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the 
fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-nine, and for other 
purposes. 

* * * 

SIGNAL SERVICE. 

, . . . Not exceeding seven hundred dollars may be used for the 
rental of such cable and land wires as may, in the opinion of the Chief 
Signal Officer, be necessary to secure connection between the Point 
Reyes military telegraph line and the signal office in San Francisco, 
California. 

* * -x- 

. . . And the Secretary of War is authorized, in his discretion, 
to detail for the service in the Signal Corps not to exceed live com- 
missioned officers of the Regular Army, to be exclusive of the second 
lieutenants of the Signal Corps authorized bylaw; and the Regular 
Army officers herein authorized to be detailed for the Signal Corps 
shall receive their paj^ and allowances from the appropriation for the 
support of the Army; and no money herein appropriated shall be used 
for pay and allowances of second lieutenants appointed or to be 
appointed from the sergeants of the Signal Corps under the provisions 
of the act approved June twentieth, eighteen hundred and seventy- 
eight, in excess of the number of fourteen, or for the pay and allow- 
ances of exceeding three hundred and twenty enlisted men of the Signal 
Corps. 



Act of Octoher m, 1888 {25 Stats., 552). 

AN ACT to make enlisted men of the Signal Corps responsible for public property. 

That from and after the passage of this act every officer of the 
Signal Corps, every noncommissioned officer or private of the Signal 
Corps, and all other officers, agents, or persons who now have in 
possession, or may hereafter receive, or may be intrusted with any 
stores or supplies shall, quarterly, or more often if so directed, and in 
such manner and on such forms as may be prescribed by the Chief 
Signal Officer, make true and correct returns to the Chief Signal Officer 
of all Signal Service propert}^ and all other supplies and stores of every 
kind received by or intrusted to them and each of them, or which maj^, 
in any manner, come into their, and each of their, possession or charge. 
The Chief Signal Officer, subject to the approval of the Secretary of 
War, is hereby authorized and directed to draw up and enforce in his 
Bureau a system of rulc>s and regulations for the government of the 
Signal Bureau, and of all persons in said Bureau, and for the safe-keep- 



622 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENEKAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

ing and preservation of all Signal Service property of every kind, and 
to direct and prescribe the kind, number, and form of all returns and 
reports, and to enforce compliance therewith, 

March 2, 1889 {25-939). — Authorizes detail of five officers of the Army for service in 
the Signal Corps. 

No part of the appropriation for signal service shall be used in payment of enlisted 
men of the Signal Corps on clerical or messenger duty in the Signal Office, nor to pay 
the expense of travel performed on strictly military duty. 

August SO, 1890 {£6-371). — Officers and men of the Signal Corps may purchase sub- 
sistence stores in same manner as other officers and men of the Army. (Sec. 1144, 
R.S.) 

September 26, 1890 {26-479 ) . — Appropriation for restoring and maintaining telegraphic 
communication between Tatoosh Island and Port Angeles, Cal., to be expended by 
the Chief Signal Officer of the Army. 

Act of October i, 1890 {26 Stats., 653). 

AN ACT to increase the efficiency and reduce the expenses of the Signal Corps of 
the Army, and to transfer the weather service to the Department of Agriculture. 

That the civilian duties now performed by the Signal Corps of the 
Army shall hereafter devolve upon a bureau to be known as the Weather 
Bureau, which, on and after July first, eighteen hundred and ninety- 
one, shall be established in and attached to the Department of Agri- 
culture, and the Signal Corps of the Army shall remain a part of the 
military establishment under the direction of the Secretary of War, and 
all estimates for its support shall be included with other estimates for 
the support of the military establishment. 

Sec. 2. That the Chief Signal Otficer shall have charge, under the 
direction of the Secretary of War, of all military signal duties, and of 
books, papers, and devices connected therewith, including telegraph 
and telephone apparatus and the necessary meteorological instruments 
for use on target ranges and other military uses; the construction, 
repair, and operation of military telegraph lines, and the duty of col- 
lecting and transmitting information for the Army by telegraph or 
otherwise, and all other duties usually pertaining to military signaling; 
and the operations of said corps shall be confined to strictly military 
matters. 

* -X- * 

Sec. i. . . . Provided^ That the chief signal officer of the Army 
may, in the discretion of the President, be detailed to take charge of 
said bureau, and in like manner other officers of the Army, not exceed- 
ing four, expert in the duties of the weather service, may be assigned to 
duty with the Weather Bureau, and while so serving shall receive the 
pay and allowances to which they are entitled by law. 

Sec. 5. That the enlisted force of the Signal Corps, excepting those 
hereinafter provided for, shall be honorably discharged from the 
Army on June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-one, and such 
portion of this entire force, including the civilian employees of the 
Signal Service, as may be necessary for the proper performance of 
the duties of the Weather Bureau shall, if they so elect, be trans- 
ferred to the Department of Agriculture, and the compensation of the 
force so transferred shall continue as it shall l)e in the Signal Service 
on June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-one, until otherwise 
provided by law: Providtd., That skilled observers serving in the 
Signal Service at said date shall be entitled to preference over other 



THE SIGNAL CORPS. 623 

persons not in the Sig-nal Service for appointment in the Weather 
Bureau to places for which they may be properly qualified until the 
expiration of the time for which they were last enlisted. 

bEC. 6. That in addition to the Chief Signal Officer the commissioned 
force of the Signal Corps sha21 hereafter consist of one major, four 
captains (mounted), and four first lieutenants (mounted), who shall 
receive the pay and allowances of like grades in the Army, The offi- 
cers herein provided for shall be appointed from the Army, including 
lieutenants of the Signal Corps, preference being given to officers who 
have performed long and efficient service in the Signal Service: Pro- 
vided^ That no appointment shall be made until a board, to be 
appointed hj the Secretary of War, shall have submitted a report 
recommending officers for appointment in the Signal Corps in the 
order of merit, based upon the importance and usefulness of work per- 
formed in the Signal Service, as said board may determine from the 
official records. And such second lieutenants of the Signal Corps as 
ma}^ not be promoted under the provisions of this act shall be 
appointed second lieutenants in the line of the Army, with present 
date of commission, and shall be assigned to the first vacancies which 
may occur in the grade of second lieutenant after the appointments 
herein provided for have been made. 

Sec. 7. That all appointments and promotions in the Signal Corps 
after this reorganization shall be made after examination and approval 
under sections twelve hundred and six and twelve hundred and seven 
of the Revised Statutes, which are hereby amended so as to be appli- 
cable to and to provide for the promotion of the lieutenants of the 
Signal Corps in the same manner as they now apply to the Corps of 
Engineers and the Ordnance Corps; and all vacancies which may here- 
after exist in the grade of first lieutenant in the Signal Corps shall be 
filled by transfer from the line of the Army, after competitive exam- 
ination and recommendation h^ a board of officers of the Signal Corps 
to be appointed b}^ the Secretary of War. 

Sec. 8. That the enlisted force of the Signal Corps of the Army 
shall hereafter consist of fifty sergeants, of which ten shall be of the 
first class, with pay of hospital stewards. No further enlistments 
shall be made in the Signal Corps for duties enumerated in section 
three: Provided^ That any vacancy existing or hereafter occurring in 
that portion of the force of the Signal Corps engaged in said duties 
may be filled by a civilian at a salary not exceeding that now paid for 
the same class of work in the State or Territory where the service 
may be performed, and this compensation for said services shall con- 
tinue until July first, eighteen hundred and ninety -one, which compen- 
sation may be paid out of the appropriation for the pay of the present 
enlisted force. 

Sec. 9. That on and after July first, eighteen hundred and ninet}^- 
one, the appropriations for the support of the Signal Corps of the 
Arm 3^ shall be made with those of other stafl' corps of the Army, . . . 

Sec. 10. That the President is authorized to appoint, on or before 
IVIarch first, eighteen hundred and ninety-one, a board of three officials, 
which board shall be charged with the duty of examining the classes 
and kinds of property and the amount of mone3^s pertaining to and in 
the possession of the Signal Corps, and said board shall, as soon as 
practicable, make to the Secretary of War a report setting forth the 
amount of moneys and the quantities and kinds of property more suit- 



624 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

able for the work of the Weather Bureau and not necessary for the 
use of the Signal Corps, and what part of said property will be suitable 
and necessary for the Signal Corps, and upon the approv^al of said 
report by the Secretary of War the property and moneys which shall 
be decided to properly pertain to the Weather Bureau work shall be 
transferred to such Bureau, and to the custody of the Secretary of 
Agriculture, while the remaining property and funds shall continue in 
the possession of the Signal Corps. 

Act of August 6, 189^ {38 Stats., 233). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-five, and for other purposes. 



FOR PAY OF THE GENERAL STAFF. 



Signal Corps: . . . Provided, That whenever a vacancy in the 
grade of brigadier-general shall occur in the office of Chief Signal 
Officer said vacasicy shall not be filled, but said grade shall cease and 
determine, and thereafter the commissioned force of the Signal Corps 
shall consist of one colonel, who shall be the Chief Signal Officer of the 
Army, and selected from the corps, and one lieutenant-colonel, one 
major, and three captains (mounted), to be appointed from the corps 
according to seniority, and three first lieutenants (mounted), to be 
appointed as now provided b}" law, who shall each receive the pay and 
allowances of like grades in the Army, and the officers of the Signal 
Corps shall retain the commissions held by them at the date of the next 
vacancy in the office of Chief Signal Officer, unless promoted in 
compliance with law. 

* -x- * 

. . . Provided further, . . . that purchases may be made 
in open market in the manner common among business men when the 
aggregate amount required does not exceed two hundred dollars, but 
every such purchase shall be immediately reported to the Secretary 
of War. 



Act of March '2, 1807 (29 Stats., 609). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight. 



FOR PAY OF THE GENERAL STAFF. 



Signal Corps: . . . And the promotions authorized by law when 
a vacancy occurs in the office of the Chief Signal Officer may l)e made 
in grades below that of colonel upon the approval of this act. 



THE SIGNAL CORPS. 625 

Act of April 26, 1898 {30 Stats., 364). 
AN ACT for the better organization of the line of the Army of the United States. 

-X- * * 

Sec. 3. . . . In time of war there shall be added to the Signal 
Corps of the Army ten corporals, one hundred first-class privates, and 
forty second-class privates, who shall have the pay and allowances of 
engineer troops of the same grade. 

* * * 

Act of May 18, 1898 {30 Stats., P7). 
AN ACT to organize a vohmteer signal corps. 

That the President is hereby authorized to organize a volunteer sig- 
nal corps for service during the existing war, which corps shall receive 
the same pay and allowances as are authorized by law for the Signal 
Corps of the Army. 

Sec. 2. The volunteer signal corps shall consist of one colonel, one 
lieutenant-colonel, one major as disbursing officer, and such other offi- 
cers and men as may be required, not exceeding one major for each 
army corps, and two captains, two first lieutenants, two second lieu- 
tenants, five first-class sergeants, ten sergeants, ten corporals, and thirty 
first-class privates to each organized division of troops: Provided, 
That two-thirds of all ofiicers below the rank of major and a like pro- 
portion of the enlisted men shall be skilled electricians or telegraph 
operators. 

Resolution <f July 8, 1898 {30 Stats., 752). 

JOINT RESOLUTION to correct an omission relative to signal ofiicers on the staff 
of corps commanders, and for other purposes. 

That so much of section ten of the act of Congress approved April 
twenty-fifth, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, as provides that the 
staff of the general commanding an army corps shall consist of certain 
officers, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, shall be held to include 
among such officers a chief signal officer: Pi'ovided^ That so much of 
the act of Congress approved August sixth, eighteen hundred and 
ninety-four, as reduces the grade of the Chief Signal Officer of the 
Army is hereby repealed, and the colonel therein provided for shall be 
assistant chief signal officer and appointed, by regular promotion, 
upon the approval of this resolution: Provided further, That the laws 
authorizing the detail and assignment of the officers of the Army to 
duty in the Weather Bureau be, and are herebj^, repealed. 

Act of March 2, 1899 {30 Stats., 977). 

AN ACT for increasing the efficiency of the Army of the United States, and for 

other purposes. 

That from and after the date of approval of this act the Army of 
the United States shall consist of ... a Signal Corps. . . . 

* * * 

S. Doc. 229 40 



626 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Sec. 7. That the . . . Signal Corps shall consist of the officers 
and enlisted men now provided by law. 

* * * 

Sec. Itt. That the President is hereby authorized to continue in 
service, or to appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
officers of the volunteer staff as follows: 

* * * 

Four signal officers with the rank of major, nine signal officers with 
the rank of captain, nine signal officers with the rank of first lieuten- 
ant, and nine signal officers with the rank of second lieutenant. 

* x- * 

May 25, 1900 {31 — ). — Commercial business may be done over the military tele- 
graph and cable lines in Alaska, receipts from such business to be accounted for and 
paid into the United States Treasury. 

Resol'ution of June .|, 1900 {SI Stats. ^ — ). 

JOINT RESOLUTION for the appointment of first lieutenants of volunteers in the 

Signal Corps of the Army. 

That the President is hereby empowered to nominate and, by and 
with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint ten first lieuten- 
ants of volunteers in the Signal Corps of the Army, whose commis- 
sions shall expire June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and one. 

Act of Fehruary ^, 1901 {31 Stat.s., — ). 

AN ACT to increase the efficiency of the permanent military establishment of the 

United States. 

That from and after the approval of this act the Army of the United 
States . . . shall consist of ... a Signal Corps. 

* * * 

Sec. 24. That the Signal Corps shall consist of one Chief Signal 
Officer, with the rank of brigadier-general, one colonel, one lieutenant- 
colonel, four majors, fourteen captains, fourteen first lieutenants, 
eighty first-class sergeants, one hundred and twenty sergeants, one 
hundred and fifty corporals, two hundred and fifty first-class privates, 
one hundred and fifty second-class privates, and ten cooks: 1 \ovided, 
That vacancies created or caused by this section shall be filled by pro- 
motion of officers of the Signal Corps according to seniority, as now 
provided by law. Vacancies remaining after such promotions may be 
filled by appointment of persons who have served in the Volunteer 
Signal Corps since April twenty -fii;st, eighteen hundred and ninet}''- 
eight: Pror/'ded, That the President is authorized to continue in serv- 
ice during the present emergency, for duty in the Philippine Islands, 
five volunteer signal officers with the rank of first lieutenant and five 
volunteer signal officers with the rank of second lieutenant. This 
authority shall extend only for the period when their services may be 
absolutely necessary. 

* * * 

Sec. 26. That so long as there remain any officers holding perma- 
nent appointments in the . . . Signal Corps, including those 



THK SIGNAL CORPS. 627 

appointed to original vacancies in the grades of captain and first lieu- 
tenant under tlie provisions of sections sixteen, seventeen, twenty-one, 
and twenty-four of this act, they shall be promoted according to 
seniority in the several grades, as now provided by law, and nothing 
herein contained shall be deemed to apply to vacancies which can be 
tilled by such promotions or to the periods for which the officers so 
promoted shall hold their appointments, and when an}^ vacancy, except 
that of the chief of the department or corps, shall occur which can 
not be filled by promotion as provided in this section, it shall be filled 
by detail from the line of the Army, and no more permanent appoint- 
ments shall be made in those departments or corps after the original 
vacancies created by this act shall have been filled. Such details shall 
be made from the grade in which the vacancies exist, under such sys- 
tem of examination as the President may from time to time prescribe. 

All officers so detailed shall serve for a period of four years, at the 
expiration of which time they shall return to duty with the line, and 
officers below the rank of lieutenant-colonel shall not again be eligible 
for selection in any staff department until they shall have served two 
years with the line. 

That when vacancies shall occur in the position of chief of any staff 
corps or department the President may appoint to such vacancies, by 
and with the advice and consent of the Senate, officers of the Army at 
large not below the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and who shall hold office 
for terms of four years. When a vacancy in the position of chief of any 
staff' corps or department is filled by the appointment of an officer 
below the rank now provided ])y law for said office, said chief shall, 
while so serving, have the same rank, pay, and allowances now pro- 
vided for the chief of such corps or department. And any officer now 
holding office in any corps or department who shall hereafter serve as 
chief of a staff corps or department and shall subsequently be retired, 
shall be retired Avith the rank, pay, and allowances authorized by law 
for the retirement of such corps or department chief: Provided., That 
so long as there remain in service officers of any staff corps or depart- 
ment holding permanent appointments, the chief of such staff' corps or 
department shall be selected from the officers so remaining therein. 

Sec. 27. That each position vacated by officers of the line, trans- 
ferred to any department of the staff' for tours of service under this 
act, shall be filled by promotion in the line until the total number 
detailed equals the number authorized for duty in each staff' depart- 
ment. Thereafter vacancies caused by details from the line to the 
staff shall be filled by officers returning from tours of staff' duty. If 
under the operation of this act the number of officers returned to any 
particular arm of the service at any time exceeds the number authorized 
by law in an}" grade, promotions to that grade shall cease until the 
number has been reduced to that authorized. 



THE COMMISSARY-GENERAL OF MUSTERS. 



An^-. 11, 1775. — Stephen Moylan, Muster- Master-General. 
June 18, 177(). — Gunning Bedford, Muster-Master-General. 
Apr. 10, 1777. — Joseph Ward, Muster-Master-General. 
Jan. 12, 1780. — Musterino; Department discontinued. 



629 



COMMISSARY-GENERAL OF MUSTERS. 



JOURNALS OF THE AMERICAN (CONTINENTAL) CONGRESS. 

June 16, 1775. 

Resolved, . . . That there be a commissary of the musters; 
that his pay be forty dollars per month. 

July 17, 1775. 

Resolved, That a deputy muster-master be appointed for the said 
[New York] department. 

Gunning Bedford, esq. , elected to that office. 

Jidy 19, 1775. 

Resolved, That the appointment of . . . a commissary of mus- 
ters ... be left to General Washington. 

July 29, 1775. 

Resolved, That the pay of the Commissary-General of Musters be 
forty dollars per month. 

* * * 

Deputy muster-master-general, forty dollars per do. (month). 

August 11, 1775. — "The Commander in Chief has been i^leased to appoint Stephen 
Moylan, esqr., to be Muster-Master-General to the Army of the United Colonies." 
{Orders, General Headquarters, Cambridge.) 

Feiruary 17, 1776. 

Resolved^ . . . That the appointment of Captain Rensselaer 

to be deput}' muster-master-general of the forces in Canada be con- 
firmed. 

Fehruary 28, 1776. 

Resolved, . . . That the deputy muster-master-general, Gun- 
ning Bedford, esq., be directed to repair to his post forthwith in the 
northern army in Canada, and that he muster the troops once in every 
month and make returns to Congress and the commanding officer. 

March 25, 1776. 

Resolved, That a deputy muster-master-general be appointed for the 
Southern Department. 

The l)allots being taken and examined, 

631 



632 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Edmund Randolph, esq., was elected.^ 

Resolved., That E. Randolph, esq., be empowered to appoint two 
deputy muster-masters under him, one for North Carolina and the 
other for South Carolina. 

June 5, 1776. 

Resolved., That the . . . deputy muster-masters-general make 
regular returns and reports to Congress and to the respective officers 
to whom they are deputies at least once a month, and that the princi- 
pals also make returns to Congress at the same periods. 

June 17, 1776. 

Resolved., That an experienced general be immediately sent into 
Canada, with power to appoint ... a deputy muster- master-gen- 
eral and such other officers as he shall find necessary for the good of 
the service, . . . and notify the same to Congress for their appro- 
bation; 

* * * 

That a deputy muster-master-general be immediatel}^ sent into 
Canada. 

June IS, 1776. 

Resolved., That Gunning Bedford, esq., deputy muster-master-gen- 
eral, be promoted to the rank of Muster-Master-General, and that he 
be directed immediately to repair to headquarters in New York. 

Resolved, That General Washington be empowered and directed to 
nominate and send a deputy muster-master-general to Canada. 

July 9, 1776. 

The Congress proceeded to the election of a deputy muster-master- 
general for the flying camp and militia ordered to rendezvous at 
Trenton; and the ballots being taken, 

Jonathan B. Smith was elected." 

September "25, 1776. 

Resolved, . . . That Richard Varick, late captain in Colonel 
McDougall's regiment, which office he resigned, secretary to the hon- 
orable Major-General Schuyler, be appointed deputy muster-master- 
general to the northern army. 

October 7, 1776. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a deputy muster-master-gen- 
eral for the flying camp, in the the room of Jonathan B. Smith; and the 
ballots being taken, 

William Davies was elected. 

^ Resigned April 26, 1776, having been elected to represent Williamsburg in conven- 
tion. 

■^ Resigned September 27, 1776. 



COMMISSARY-GENERAL OF MUSTERS. 633 

October 16, 1776. 

Resolved, That General Washington be empowered to appoint . . . 
a deputy muster-master-general for the flying camp. 

October %1, 1776. 

Resolved, . . . That the rations allowed to the several officers 
on the staff in the Army of the United States, not heretofore settled, 
be as follow: . 

To the . . . deputy muster-master-general, 6 rations. . . . 

November 7, 1776. 

Resolved, ... 8. That the deputy muster-master-general in the 
Northern Department have the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the Army 
of the United States. 

April ^, 1777. 

Resolved, That there be one Commissary-General of Musters for the 
Army of the United States: 

That there be four deputy muster-masters-general; 

That the said appointments be made by Congress; 

That one deputy muster-master l)e appointed to each grand division 
of the army, and that these appointments be made by the Commander 
in Chief; 

That the troops be mustered once in ever}" month by the deputy 
muster-masters, and once, at least, in every three months the deputy 
muster-master-general of each department shall superintend at such 

musters; 

* * * 

That the deputy muster-master-general of each department return 
an abstract of each muster roll once a month to the deputy adjutant- 
general of that department,' and one other abstract to the Commissary- 
General of Musters; 

That the Commissar3^-General of Musters return to the Adjutant- 
General once a month an abstract of all the musters, regimentally 
digested, together with an abstract of the rations drawn or retained 
by the several regiments; 

* * * 

That the pay of the Commissary-General of Musters be 60 dollars a 
month and 4 rations a day; 

That the pay of the deputy muster-master-general l)e 50 dollars a 
month and 8 rations a day; 

That the pa}' of a muster-master be 35 a month and two rations a 
day. 

Ajrrll 10, 1777. 

Resolved, That the Commissary-General of Musters have the rank 
of colonel in the Army of the United States; that the deputy muster- 
masters general have the rank of lieutenant-colonels in the Army of 
the United States. 

^ Revoked by resolution of June 10, 1777. 



634 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. AKMY 

Congress proceeded to the election; and the ballots being taken, 
Joseph Ward, esq., was elected Commissary-General of Musters. 
Richard Varick and William Bradford, jr., were elected deputy 
muster-masters-general. 

May ^, 1777. 

Resolved^ That all muster rolls directed to be taken be sworn to 
before some general officer of the Arm}^, or in the absence of a gen- 
eral officer, before the commanding officer of the post where the 
muster is made, or some civil magistrate in the United States, and a 
certificate thereof be made on the back of each roll. 

Resol/ved^ That each deputy muster-master deliver to the deputy 
muster-master-general of his department one certified copy of all mus- 
ter rolls, by which the latter shall make the abstracts required from 
him. 

Resolved^ That the commissary -general of musters and his deputies 
shall take an oath of office and fidelity to these United States. 

Resolved., That in the absence of the Commander in Chief from any 
department the deputy muster-masters shall be appointed by the com- 
mander in that department. 

Resolved, That the mustering officers be empowered and directed to 
require of the officers whose troops are mustered any papers or vouchers 
relative to the enlistment and muster. 

May 11^, 1777. 

Resolved., . . . The Commander in Chief and the commander in 
any separate department shall be authorized to allow such quantities of 
forage, and for and during such times as they shall think proper . 
to the muster-master-general and his deputies: . . . Provided 
always.. That if any of the officers above mentioned, their deputies or 
assistants, should be allowed forage in consequence of any general 
orders hereafter given, and should nevertheless not keep any or so 
many horses as they would be permitted to draw forage for, in such 
case no forage shall be issued for more horses than they really have, 
nor shall they at any time thereafter be allowed any forage as back 
allowance or any money in lieu thereof. 

May 20, 1777. — "Lewis Woodruff, esq., is appointed deputy inuster-inaster." — 
( Orders, General Headquarters, Monistown. ) 

J%me 10, 1777. 

Resolved, . . . XXXIV. — That no returns of rations drawn or 
returned by the several regiments be hereafter made ... to the 
connnissarj^-general of musters, or by him to the adjutant-general 
. . . as directed in the regulations of the muster-master-general's 
department passed ))y Congress the -Ith of April last. 

July 6\ 1777. 

Resolved, That Robert Harrison, esq. , be appointed to muster the 
said battalion [Mar3dand battalion of Continental troops commanded 
by Colonel Richardson] while emploj^ed in the service for which it is 
now destined; and that he be allowed a reasonable compensation for 
every muster which he shall perform. 



COMMISSARY-GENERAL OF MUSTERS. 635 

Augiist 6, 1777. 

Resolved., That the commissary-general of musters be allowed here- 
after the pay and rations of a colonel; that the pa}^ of his deputy 
commissaries be increased to 60 dollars a month, and that of the muster- 
masters to 45 dollars per month. 

Hesolved, That the several muster-masters be directed to omit making 
returns to the paymaster and deputy paymasters-general. 

August m, 1777. 

Resolved., That Lodowig Sprogle be empowered and directed to 
muster the militia of PennsyU^ania instead of the deput}^ muster- 
master-general, whose indisposition prevents his performing that 
service. 

October 10, 1777. 

Resolved, That John Montgomery, esq., at Carlisle, be, and he is 
hereby appointed and authorized to muster the two companies under 
the command of Major J. A. Wilson, for the discharge of which duty 
a reasonable allowance shall be made to him. 

October '20, 1777. 

Resolved, That Mr. William Massey be appointed deputy muster- 
master-general to the Continental troops raised or to be raised in the 
States of South Carolina and Georgia. 

January 13, 1778. 

Resolved, . . . That ... a deputy muster-master-general 
. . . be appointed to act^^^'t* tempore for the troops aforesaid [from 
New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island, and Connecticut 
constantly employed in Rhode Island for the defence of the State and 
of the Providence Plantations]; that the . . . deputy muster- 
master-general be appointed by the officer commanding at that post 
[Providence], and that each . . . take the oath of tidelity and 
office. ... 

May 29, 1778. 

Resolved, That no person hereafter appointed upon the civil staff of 
the Army shall hold or be entitled to any rank in the Army by virtue 
of such staff appointment. 

March 16, 1779. — The cjuartermaster-general was authorized to appoint a muster- 
iiianter for the corps of wagoners; and, April 19, 1779, he was empowered to estal)lish 
ivgulations, to be approved by the Commander in Chief, for the mustering of that 
corps. 

A^il 6, 1779. 

Congress proceeded to the election of deputy commissaries-general 
of musters in the room of Messrs. Bradford and Noarth, resigned; and 
the ballots being taken, 

Mr. Henry Rutgers, jr., and Mr. Azariah Horton were elected. 

December 24, 1779. — "The honorable the board of war having procured a small 
supply of shirts and linen and directed the distribution of them among the officers 



636 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

of the . . . staff, who are not adopted by any State, the clothier-general is to 
deliver them upon returns sighed by the . . . heads of the following corps 
and departments at the rates directed by a resolve of Congress of the 25th of Novem- 
ber last. . . . Muster-masters." . . . {Orders, General Headquarters, Morris- 
tovm. ) 

January/ 12, 1780. 

Resolved, That the mustering- department be discontinued and the 
oiEcers thereof discharged. 

And whereas the said commissary -general of musters has proved 
himself a good and faithful officer, and those who have been employed 
under him have given satisfaction in their offices: 

Resohied, That the said commissary-general of musters, and those 
officers who have continued in that department under him for eighteen 
months last past, shall be entitled to receive a sum equal to their pay 
respectively for the terms of twelve months from this da3\ 

Resolved, That in future the business of mustering the troops be 
performed by the inspectors of the Army, . . . 

February 7, 1780. 

Resolved, That the commissary-general of musters, his deputies and 
muster-masters, be allowed 100 dollars per month for each detained 
ration from the 18th of August last to the 12th of January last, when 
the department was discontinued, in like manner as officers of the line. 

Octoljer m, 1781. 

Ordered, That it be recommended to the executive of the State of 
Massachusetts to settle with and pay the officers of the late mustering 
department within that State, that have not been settled with, by allow- 
ing them what their arrears of pay and j^ear's advance was worth in 
specie at the time they respectively became due, and charge the same 
to the United States. 



THE COMMISSARY-GENERAL OF PRISONERS. 



May 15, 1777.— Elias Boudinot. 
May 11, 1778.— Col. Francis Johnson. 
May 28, 1778.— Maj. John Beatty. 
Apr. 15, 1780.— Col. Joseph Ward. 
Sept. 15, 1780. — Abraham Skinner. 



637 



COMMISSARY-GENERAL OF PRISONERS. 



JOURNALS OF THE AMERICAN (CONTINENTAL) CONGRESS. 

October 7, 1776. 

Resolved^ That a comniissary of prisoners of war be appointed in 
each of the United States. 

That the said commissaries be directed to make monthly returns of 
the state and conditions of the prisoners, under their respective care, 
to the Board of War. 

That the said commissaries be appointed by the respective States. 

December ^7, 1776. 

R&iolved., . . . That General Washington be empowered to 
appoint a commissary of prisoners, . . . to fix their salaries, and 
return their names to Congress. 

* * * 

June 6', 1777. 

Resolved., . . . That a commission be granted to Elias Boudi- 
not, esq., as commissary-general of prisoners; the said commission to 
be dated the 15th day of May last, and Mr. Boudinot to be allowed 
the pay and rations of a colonel. 

That Elias Boudinot, commissary-general of prisoners, be empowered 
to appoint two deputy commissaries of prisoners; the said deputies to 
be allowed the pay and rations of majors. 

June 23, 1777. 

Resolved, That Elias Boudinot, esq., commissary-general of pris- 
oners, have power to appoint three deputies under him in addition to 
those he was heretofore authorized to appoint. 

That all commissaries or other persons in the several States having 
the custody or care of prisoners of war bo obliged, at any time when 
required by the commissary-general of prisoners or his deputies, to 
deliver over to him or his deputies all such prisoners of war as are or 
shall be in their care or custody. 

June 24, 1777. 

Resolved, That the Board of War write to the commissary of pris- 
oners, instructing him to propose to the commissary of prisoners in 
New York that the prisoners of each party in the present war be sup- 

639 



640 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

plied with such provisions, clothing, or other necessaries during- their 
captivity by the respective captors as may be approved by the deputy 
commissaries resident where the prisoners are confined, fixing in the 
contract the quantities and value of a ration of provisions, the clothing 
and necessaries to be charged at the current prices, and the account of 
such supplies to be rendered quarterly, and the balance paid, if required, 
in provisions at the current rates, if due from the American commis- 
sary, or in clothing at the current price, if due from the Britiyh com- 
missar3\ 

Hesolved, That the commissary of prisoners be empowered to make 
such contract on behalf of the United States of America, and to make 
such reasonable alterations from the directions of the Board of War as 
he may find necessary to obtain an equitable bargain for the mutual 
supply of prisoners. 

Resolved^ That if the commissary -general of prisoners shall not be 
able to accomplish a contract on equitable principles wnthin the space 
of three weeks from this date, he be authorized to send in a quantity 
of provisions to supply the prisoners of war taken by the enemy and 
now in New York; that the overplus provisions, beyond what the pris- 
oners want for their sustenance, be sold to supply them with clothing 
and other necessaries; and that it be recommended to the commissary- 
general of prisoners not to divulge this resolution, that unreasonable 
advantage may not be taken of it. 

October ^, 1777. 

Resolved^ Thai, the commissary of prisoners provide, under the direc- 
tion of the Board of War, log barracks for Continental prisoners of 
war that already are, or hereafter may be, sent to the Commonwealth 
of Virginia, at such place or places as the governor and council of that 
State shall approve; that in the construction thereof regard be had to 
the health and safekeeping of the prisoners, and that a convenient 
space of ground, .surrounding or adjoining thereto, be set apart for 
benefit of air, and sd enclosed as to prevent all intercourse with the 
inhabitants; that until such ])arracks be provided the prisoners be sent 
to the county lieutenants of Frederick and Augusta counties, in Vir- 
ginia, to be by them secured, at the Continental expense, in such man- 
ner as shall be suita]>le for prisoners of war, and until the governor 
and council of Virginia shall take further order therein. 

OctoheT 6, 1777. 

Resohied., That all masters, officers, and marines, and all subjects of 
the King of Great Britain, taken on board any prize made by any Con- 
tinental vessel of war ])e hereafter considered as prisoners of war and 
treated as such, and that the seamen and mariners of such prize be 
confined in the gaols or some other secure place in the States to which 
the prize shall be carried; and it is recommended to the several States 
to consider and treat all captains, officers, and mariners, and all sub- 
jects of the King of Great Britain, taken on board any prize made by 
any vessel fitted out by or carried into any State, by any privateer or 
letter of marque, as prisoners of war. 

Ordered., That the commissar3^-general of prisoners be informed of 
this resolve, and that he be directed to appoint a deputy in each State. 



COMMISSAR Y-GENEKAL OF PEISONEES. 641 

October 30, 1777. 

Resolved., That in case a sufficient number of laborers can not be 
procured to work the lead mines in the State of New York, the com- 
missary -general of prisoners be directed to furnish a competent num- 
ber of prisoners of war for that end. 

December 12, 1777. — "Daniel Clymer, esq., is appointed deputy commissary of 
prisoners, to act in the absence of the commissary-general of prisoners." {Orders, 
General Headquarters, Sireedes' Ford. ) 

December 1:?, i777.— "David Klein, esq., is appointed deputy commissary of prison- 
ers, to act in the absence of the commissary -genei'al of prisoners." {Orders, General 
Headquarters [on the march to Valley Forge^ . ) 

Ja.iuary IJf., 1778. 

Resolved^ That the order of the commissary of prisoners shall be a 
sufficient voucher to the commissary or deputy commissary-general of 
purchases for the delivery of provisions for the use of the prisoners 
of war. 

January "31, 1778. 

Resolved, . . . That the conimissary-general of prisoners and 
his respective deputies be forthwith directed to call in all the officers 
and privates belonging to the eneni}^, and to confine them in such 
places and order them to be subsisted and treated in such manner as 
shall render their situation similar in all respects to that of the officers 
and privates who are prisoners with the enemy, and that they con- 
tinue this mode of treatment till such a time as a change of conduct 
on the part of the enemy shall indiice Congress or the Commander in 
Chief of the armies of these States to gi^e directions for a different 
line of conduct on their part. 

May 11, 1778. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a commissary of prisoners, in 
the room of Elias Boudinot, esq., resigned, and the ballots being taken, 
Colonel Francis Johnson was elected. 

Mwy 21, 1778. 

Resolved, That the necessary contingent charges of executing the 
office of commissary -general of prisoners be allowed, over and above 
the present pay of Colonel Johnson. 

May 21, 1778. — Lieutenant-Colonel Johnson was taken from the line because his 
health would not permit him to undergo the fatigues of active service; he was per- 
mitted by Congress to hold his rank, but no command in the line. May 23, he 
declined the appointment as it never was his wish to give up his rank in the line. 

May 28, 1778. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a commissary -general of pris- 
oners, and the baUot being* taken, 
Major John Beatty was elected. 

S. Doc. 229 41 



642 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENEKAL STAFF OF U. S. AEMY. 

July 15, 1778. 

Resoh)ed, That all prisoners taken or which may be taken by the 
squadron of His Most Christian Majesty, under the command of the 
Count d'Estaing, vice-admiral of France, be received by the commis- 
sary-general of prisoners, and that he provide for their safe custody 
and subsistence in like manner as hath been usual for the prisoners of 
these States. 

That he make monthly returns of all prisoners which shall be by him 
so received to the Board of War. 

That he make monthly returns to the Treasury of the accounts of all 
moneys expended for the purposes aforesaid, and that the prisoners 
be held at the disposal of His Most Christian Majesty, and subject to 
the orders of his excellency Mons. Count d'Estaing-. 

July 30, 1778. 

Resolved, That the commissary -general of prisoners be directed to 
engage in the Continental service all, or as many as he can, of the sea- 
men sent from New York by Admiral Gambler who shall appear to be 
eflfective or likely to be soon fit for service, and that he furtiish such 
as will so engage with the means of travelling to Boston, where they 
are to be delivered to the commissioners of the Navy for the eastern 
district, to be shipped on board the Continental vessels of war fitting 
out at that port. 

August If,, 1778. 

Ordeft'ed, That the commissary -general of prisoners do from time to 
time, on the exchange of prisoners in the possession of the enemy, take 
proper care of those who shall appear to be in such ill state of health 
as to be unable to travel, either by sending them to a public hospital 
or, when that can not be readily efiected, by appointing proper persons 
to take care of them on the easiest terms practicable, and that those 
who are able to travel be furnished with orders on the difl^erent com- 
missaries of issues on their way for such a number of rations as may 
be necessary for their support to their respective places of abode; also 
that the commissary of prisoners do keep exact accounts of the expenses 
attending them that belong to the difl'erent States and are not in the 
Coniinental service. 

SerptenJjer 11, 1778. 

Resolved, That Major-General Heath, with the concurrence of the 
council of the State of Massachusetts Bay, be authorized to remove the 
prisoners, under the convention of Saratoga, to such parts of the State 
of Massachusetts Bay as they can be most conveniently subsisted in. 

Octoler 16, 1778. 

Resohed, That General Washington be directed, if neither of the 
alternatives [the British commander to grant passports to American 
vessels to transport provisions and fuel to Boston for the use of the 
prisoners or that he adopt measures for sending them ample supplies] 
mentioned in the above resolve have been complied with, to take the 



COMMISSARY-GENERAL OF PRISONERS. 643 

necessary steps for removing, with all convenient speed, all the pris- 
oners of the convention of Saratoga to the town of Charlottesville, in 
the county of Albemarle, in the State of Virginia. 

* * * 

R&iolved, That the Board of War appoint persons to superintend 
and take charge of the said prisoners; that they contract for the fuel 
for thoir use, and apply to the governor and council of Virginia for a 
suffifiont force of militia to guard the said prisoners. 

That the commissary-general of purchases provide a suitable sup- 
ply of provisions for the said troops. 

That the commissary -general of issues appoint a suitable person to 
issue provisions to the said troops and to keep a regular account 
thereof. 

That regular accounts for provisions and fuel be made and trans- 
mitted from time to time to the Board of War. 

That the Board of War ])e directed to contract with a proper person 
to build temporary log l)arracks for the reception of the said troops 
at the place above mentioned on or before the 1.5th day of December 
next, and that they report to Congress the contract they may enter into. 

Octoher 21, 1778. 

Rcf<()lved, That the commissary-general of prisoners be informea 
that Congress do not approve of partial or parole exchanges, but they 
are willing to make a general exchange of officers, whether of the con- 
vention [Saratoga] or otherwise, as far as numbers and rank will apply. 

Novemher 7, 1778. 

Resolved., That the commissary-general of prisoners be directed to 
take proper measures, until the further order of Congress, for the 
temporary supply of the British prisoners of war captivated by the 
Army of the United States, with such quotas of rations as are fur- 
nished our prisoners in the hands of the enemy by the British com- 
missaries. 

* * * 

Ordered., That the Secretary furnish the commissary-general of 
prisoners with the copy of the letter of January 19th, 1778, from Sir 
William Howe to General Washington, with the papers enclosed, 
specifying the quota of rations furnished to our prisoners in the 
enemy's hands by the British commissaries. 

November 7, 1778. — Commissaries of purchases and supplies and issues were directed 
to comply with requisitions made upon them by the commissary -general of prisoners. 

January 5, 1779. 

Resolved., That the commissary-general of prisoners be furnished 
with money, from time to time, by the Board of Treasury, for the 
purpose of subsisting the officers and soldiers of the United, States 
while in captivity, and in the actual possession of the enemy, and to 
accommodate them with sufficient sums, on account, to defray their 
travelling expenses to their homes or regiments. 

That the accounts of all prisoners who shall hereafter be released 
from captivity, for the pay and subsistence due to them while in the 



644 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

actual possession of the enemy, be received and adjusted by the said 
commissary-general, who, after charging them with the moneys he 
shall have supplied to them, shall certify the sums due thereon to the 
pa3^master-general, the deputy paymaster-general of any military 
department, or paymaster of the Board of War and Ordnance, as shall 
be most convenient for the prisoners respectively, which sums shall be 
paid by the said paymasters upon warrants to be given for the same, 
as usual for other payments made by them. 

* * * 

That, for defrajang the expenses of officers and soldiers released 
from captivity, on their way home, or to join their regiments, the 
said commissary-general of prisoners, ... in settling the 
accounts aforesaid, make an allowance of one day's pay and rations for 
every twenty miles such officers and soldiers had or have to travel 
to their homes, in case of the expiration of their time of service, or 
release on parole, or if otherwise, to join their regiments. 

* * * 

That the commissary -general of prisoners be allowed a clerk to 
enable him to perform the extra duty above assigned to him, to assist 
in the usual business of his department, and perform the duties and 
receive the pay rnd rations of a deput}^ commissary of prisoners. 

January 23, 1779. 

Besolved., That the commissary of prisoners reside at the head- 
quarters of the Army; that he shall make no exchange of prisoners 
but such as shall be directed by Congress, the Board of War, or Com- 
mander in Chief, or, with respect to marine prisoners, by the marine 
committee. 

That in future instructions respecting his department shall be trans- 
mitted to him through the Commander in Chief. 

That whenever the commissary shall think it necessar}^ to send a flag 
into the enemy's lines with provisions for the prisoners or on an}^ other 
l)usiness, he shall make application to the Commander in Chief, who 
will judge of the cause and propriety in point of time and other cir- 
cumstances. 

March 16, 1779. 

Resolved., That all warrant officers on the civil staff of the Army 
be put on the same footing with commissioned officers in respect to 
arrests, trials, and punishments. 

April 8, 1779. 

Resolved., . . . That effectual provision be made by a com- 
missary of prisoners for supplying such of our people as remain 
unexchanged. 

That a deputy commissary of prisoners be appointed for the southern 
army by the commanding officer thereof. 

April 8, 1779. — Until the establishment of a cartel for general exchange the com- 
manding officer of the southern army was authorized to exchange prisoners of war. 



COMMISSAEY-GENERAL OF PRISONERS. 645 

June 7, 1779. 

Resolved, That the commissary -general of prisoners be authorized, 
from time to time, to pay to the order of officers and soldiers in cap- 
tivity, any sums not exceeding the amount of their pay and sub- 
sistence, in order to enable them to assist their families, and that he 
make monthly returns to the Paymaster-General of their accounts, 
respectively. 

Augmf 19, 1779. 

Resolved, That the pay and su1)sistence of a colonel in the line be 
allowed to the commissary -general of prisoners. 

Resolved, That he be entitled to draw yearly from the stores of the 
clothier-general a full suit of clothes on the same terms as officers of 
the line receive the clothing furnished pursuant to the resolution of 
Congress, November the 26th, 1777. 

September 1, 1779. — Congress authorized the commissary -general of purchases to 
appoint a deputy for the especial purpose of providing for the troops of the conven- 
tion of Saratoga and their guards during their stay in Virginia. 

Octoler 18, 1779. 

Resolved, That the Board of War be directed to give the necessary 
order . . . for supplying the convention troops with rations of 
Indian meal in lieu of flour. . . . 

Novemher 16, 1779. 

Resolved, That the commissary-general of prisoners be directed, 
until the further order of Congress, to make the same provision for 
the Spanish prisoners in New York as is made for the prisoners of the 
United States, keeping a separate account thereof. 

January 13, 1780. 

Resolved, That all prisoners of war, whether captivated by the Army 
or Navy of the United States, or by the subjects, troops, or ships of 
any particular State, shall be delivered into the care and custody of 
the commissary-general of prisoners, his deputies or assistants, and 
be deemed and treated in all respects as prisoners of war to the United 
States. 

That it be earnestly recommended to the governments of the 
respective States that they make no exchanges of prisoners, to the 
intent that all exchanges ma}' l)e made through the commissary -general 
of prisoners, by direction of Congress or the Commander in Chief or 
board of admiralty, and when prisoners are taken by the particular 
subjects, troops, or vessels of any State not in the service of the 
United States, or b}^ private ships or vessels of war fitted out in any 
particular State, these shall be first exchanged, so far as is necessary, 
for the subjects or inhabitants of the same State taken by the sub 
jects, adherents, ships, or vessels of the enemy, and the overplus, if 
an}', shall go towards redeeming the prisoners in the hands of the 
enemy, without regard to their ))eing subjects or inhabitants of any 
particular State. 



646 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

That all masters or commanders of private ships or vessels of war 
shall take the utmost care to bring into port all prisoners captivated 
by them. And if from necessity they shall be obliged to dismiss any 
prisoners at sea, they shall, on return from their cruise, make report 
thereof, on oath, to the judge of the admiralty of the State to which 
they belong, or in which they arrive, within 20 davs after their 
arrival, with their reasons for such dismission. And if the judge shall 
not be satisfied with the reasons assigned, or if it shall appear that the 
prisoners were discharged to avoid the trouble and expense of bring- 
ing them into port and delivering them into custody, or in any wise 
unnecessarily, then the judge shall transmit an account thereof to the 
executive of the State, who are requested to examine into the matter 
and vacate the commission granted to the said delinquent master or 
commander of the ship or vessel if they are of the opinion that such 
dismission was improper. 

That all prisoners of war captivated by private ships or vessels of 
war be delivered by and at the expense of the masters or owners of 
such ships or vessels to a commissary of prisoners nearest the place 
of their landing, or into the nearest county gaol, on pain of forfeiture 
of the commission granted to such private ship or vessel. 

That on such delivery of the prisoners into the gaol the gaoler shall 
be obliged to inform the government of the State wherein the said 
prisoners are landed, or, in case of their residence at too great a dis- 
tance, the lieutenant or commanding officer of the militia of the county 
wherein such prisoners are landed, the commissary-general of pris- 
oners, or his deputy; that if the said prisoners are not deemed by the 
executive of the State, or the said commanding officer of the militia, 
to be in a place of sufficient security, they may be removed under 
proper guards to a place or places of greater safety at the expense of 
the United States. And the executive powers of the respective States 
are requested to give the necessary oi'ders to the commanding officers 
of militia on this subject, and to pay the expenses of escorting and 
transporting the prisoners, charging the same to the United States. 
The said executives are also requested to give orders to the officers of 
their militia to take immediate charge of all prisoners of war capti- 
vated by the ships and vessels of war belonging to the United States 
or to any particular State, and to convey them, at the expense of the 
United States, to the nearest commissar}^ of prisoners, or to the county 
gaol, and also direct the like steps to be taken in regard to their 
removal to places of greater safety, as is provided in the case of pris- 
oners captured by private vessels. 

That it be recommended to the legislatures of the respective States 
efi'ectuall}^ to provide, at the expense of the United States, for the 
delivery and safe-keeping of all prisoners captivated b_v their respec- 
tive subjects out of vessels stranded or cast on shore on their coasts, 
obliging the parties taking prisoners to deliver them to the nearest 
commissaiy of prisoners or into the nearest gaol in case no commissary 
of prisoners is stationed within convenient distance to the place of 
capture, and in case of neglect or misconduct in the persons so taking 
the prisoners, that the}'^ forfeit all right to the vessel, her tackle, 
apparel, and furniture so cast on shore, or the property they may 
save or be otherwise entitled to out of such vessel, or imposing such 
other penalty as the said legislatures shall respectively think proper. 

That it be recommended to the said legislatures to provide and 



COMMISSARY-GENERAL OF PRISONERS. 647 

direct that all gaolers receive and deliver prisoners of war without 
charging an}' fee or reward to the persons delivering them into or 
taking them b}" proper authority out of their custod}^ the reasonable 
expenses of supporting such prisoners in gaol to be paid by the 
government of the State wherein they shall ])e confined and charged 
to the United States, except where they can and shall be otherwise 
provided for b}" the proper officer in the service of the United States. 
And the gaoler shall transmit a copy of his charges against the United 
States for account of prisoners of war to the commissary-general of 
prisoners, or his nearest deputy, when any prisoners leave the gaol, 
either for removal to places of greater security or for exchange. 
That prisoners of war, either on their march or in confinement, be 
furnished with only two-thirds of a soldier's ration. 

That none but sick or wounded prisoners be allowed carriages at 
public expense. 

That all prisoners on parole pay their own expenses, and such 
expenses shall be paid before they shall be exchanged. 

That all officers, prisoners of war to the United States, unless in 
hospitals, pay their physicians, surgeons, and attendants. 

That the commissary -general of prisoners and his deputies make 
regular monthly I'eturns to the Board of War of the numl^ers, situa- 
tion, and exchanges of all prisoners under their charge, and that they 
also give the said board such occasional information of all material 
transactions in their department as circumstances from time to time 
render necessary, or when they shall be required by the board to do 
so, under pain of being suspended or dismissed by the said board. 

That all exchanges of prisoners made in consequence of the fore- 
going resolutions shall be soldier for soldier and sailor for sailor. 

March. 31, 1780. — Congress accepted the resignatiou of John Beatty, commissary- 
general of prisoners. 

Ax>rU 15, 1780. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a commissary -general of pris- 
oners, and, the ballots being taken. Colonel Joseph Ward was elected. 

July 15, 1780. 

Be.^iolred, That the following proportion of wagons and bathorses 
be allowed to the different ranks of officers, and no more, unless it be 
by order of the Commander in Chief or commanding officer of a sep- 
arate army, each of whom to be allowed for themselves so many bag- 
gage wagons and bathorses as they may think necessary, to wit: 

•X- * * 

Commissary of prisonci's, 1 two-horse wagon or 2 bathorses. 
* * -x- 

Deputy commissar}' of prisoners with a separate army, 1 two-horse 
wagon or 2 l)athorses. 

-X- -x- * 

Bemlved, That in addition to the forage allowed for the wagon and 
bathorses by these regulations, there be issued to ... ; com- 
missary of prisoners two; deputy commissary of prisoners with a sep- 
arate army, two; deputy serving with the main army, one; . . . 



648 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

August 5, 178U. 

Hesolved., That Captain George Turner be discharged from the office 
of commissary of prisoners, . . . 

Resolved^ That Brig. General Moultrie be, and hereby is, authorized 
to appoint a suitable person to act as commissar}^ of prisoners in 
Charleston and return the name of the person appointed to Congress 
for their approbation, if they shall judge proper. 

August 7, 1780. 

Ordered, That General Washington take the necessary steps for 
establishing a resident commissary of prisoners at New York, and 
Major-General Gates another in South Carolina or Georgia, to have 
the care of prisoners in those places, according to the usage and cus- 
toms of war. 

AugtLst P2, 1780. 

Ordered, That Brig. General Moultrie make return of the person 
whom he shall appoint commissary of prisoners in Charleston to 
Major-General Gates or the commanding officer in the Southern 
Department for his approbation; and so much of the resolution of the 
5th as requires Brig. General Moultrie to make return to Congress be, 
and is hereby, repealed. 



September 15., 1780. 

Congress proceeded to the election of a commissary -general of pris- 
oners; and, the ballots being taken, 

Mr. Abraham Skinner was elected, having been previously nomi- 
nated by Mr. Henry. 

October P, 1780. 

Resolved, That the agent for Continental prisoners at New York be, 
and hereby is, directed to issue supplies to the navy prisoners in the 
same manner as to those of the land army, as practiced by him here- 
tofore; and that he make distinct returns to the Board of Admiralty of 
all supplies by him issued to the nav}^ prisoners, distinguishing those 
in Continental service from those in private ships of war, and the 
respective ships and States to which the latter belonged when taken. 

October 19, 17S0. — General Washington was authorized to carry out his proposals 
for appointing a commissary of prisoners to reside with the American and British 
armies, respectively, or to make such other agreement as he shall judge proper for 
the appointment of commissaries of prisoners. 

February 5, 1781. 

Ordered., That the medical committee give the directions necessary 
for . . . removing the sick from the new gaol in their city to 
some proper place to be provided, as a hospital for prisoners. 



COMMISSARY-GENERAL OF PRISONERS, 649 

March .i. 1781. 

Ordered.^ That the convention prisoners, as well in the State of 
Maiyland as Virginia, be removed, the British to Yorktown, and the 
Germans to Lancaster, in the State of Pennsylvania, or such other 
place or places within the said State as the executive thereof shall 
direct; and that it be, and hereby is, recommended to the executive of 
the State of Virginia to superintend the removal, safe-keeping, and 
supplv of the Germans to No land's Ferry, on Potomac River; from 
which place it is recommended to the executive of the State of Mary- 
land to superintend their removal, safe-keeping, and supply to the 
borders of that State, and to continue their guard to Lancaster, the 
State of Pennsylvania furnishing the necessary supplies; that it be, and 
it is, also recommended to the State of Maryland to provide a guard 
and furnish the supplies for the convention prisoners to be removed 
from Fredericktown to Yorktown, the guard to continue on to York- 
town, but the supplies, after entering Pennsylvania, to be furnished 
by that State; that the executive of the State of Pennsylvania be, 
and hereby is, requested to order the supplies agreeably to the above 
resolutions and make the necessai'y preparations for the reception of 
prisoners at the towns or places assigned as aforesaid, and upon their 
arrival at those places, respectively, the Board of War take order for 
their future security and suppl5^ 

Septmiher 18, 1781. 

Resolved.^ That the Board of War l)e, and are hereby, directed to set 
apart 500 British prisoners, including a due proportion of officers, to 
whom exchange shall l)e denied, until the American prisoners now in 
Great Britain be returned to these States by exchange or otherwise. 

That the Board of War report a plan and an estimate of the expense 
for erecting Symsbury mines, in the State of Connecticut, into a State 
prison for the reception of British prisoners of war, and for the pur- 
pose of retaliation. 

September 25, 1781. — "The deputy commissary of prisoners will report to head- 
quarters all prisoners of war immediately after their capture." {Orders, General 
Headquarters, Williamshvrgh. ) 

October 16, 1781. — Congress declared that their order of August 5, 1780, for the dis- 
charge of Capt. George Turner, did not proceed from any malpractice or clishonorable 
procedure on his part. 

Mvemher 23, 1781. 

Resolved., That the superintendent of finance and Board of War be, 
and hereby are, authorized and directed to take immediate order for 
the safe-keeping and support of the prisoners of war in the possession 
of the United States, so as to ensure their safety as much as ma}^ be, 
and to render their support less burthensome to the finances of these 
States. 

AprU 10, 1782. 

Remlved, . . . That the commissary-general of prisoners, so 
far as respects the securing of military prisoners and making returns 
of them, take his directions from the Secretary at War. 

•X- * * 

That the care and direction of prisoners of war be vested in the 
Secretar}^ at War, so far as respects their safe-keeping. 



650 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF V. S. ARMY. 

April 23, 1782. 

Hesolved, . . . That the supernumerary junior lieutenants, 
beyond the number of ten in each regimentof infantry, be reduced, 
. . . except such of them as shall accept of appointments in the 
staff departments, with the approbation of the heads of the respective 
departments, in which case they shall severally retain their respective 
ranks in the Army and be entitled to the full pay and subsistence be- 
longing to their rank in the line, as a compensation for their respective 
services in the staff, without any other allowance whatsoever. . . . 

July 3, 1782. 

Resolved., That the Secretary at War lie, and he is hereby, author- 
ized and empowered to cause courts-martial to be forthwith holden on 
the several commissai'ies and assistant commissaries of prisoners, at 
York, Reading, and Lancaster for disobedience of orders and neglect 
of dut}' in suffering the escape of prisoners at those posts; 

And that the Secretary at War be, and he is hereby, authorized to 
appoint proper persons to take charge of the prisoners of war at the 
said places until the said commissaries shall be discharged from their 
arrest or Congress shall otherwise direct. 

July d/^, 1782. 

Resolved, That all resolutions and appointments respecting* the 
department of the commissary-general of prisoners be, and hereby are 
repealed. 

That the commander in chief be, and hereby is, empowered to 
appoint, from time to time, a commissary of prisoners, who shall be 
subject to his orders and instructions. 

That the commanding officer of the southern army have also power 
to appoint from time to time a commissaiy of prisoners, who shall be 
subject to his orders and instructions. 

That the power of negotiating the exchange of marine prisoners be 
henceforth vested in the agent of marine, who is hereby authorized to 
appoint a commissar}'^ for marine prisoners, to be subject to his orders 
and instructions. 

That the Secretary at War be, and he is hereby, authorized from 
time to time to appoint so many persons as he may find necessary to 
assist him in superintending and safe-keeping all prisoners of war, 
reporting such appointments to Congress as soon as they shall be 
made. 

That the Secretar}^ at War direct returns to be made once in every 
three months (or oftener if applied for) to the commander in chief of 
all land prisoners, and to the agent of marine of all marine prisoners, 
who shall be under his charge. 

That th(^ pay of the commissaries for the Army shall be 75 dollars 
per month each, and they shall each be allowed two rations of provi- 
sions per day and 12f dollars per month subsistence, and also 6f clollars 
per month each for a servant, for whom they shall draw from the 
public the clothing and ration allowed to a private soldier, together 
with forage for two horses each, which pay and allowance shall include 
what they may be entitled to from the public as officers in the Army. 



COMMISSARY-GENERAL OF PRISONERS. 651 

That the commissary to be appointed by the agent of marine shall 
receive in full for his services, including any pay or allowances that he 
may be entitled to as an officer of the United States, the sum of 1,200 
dollars per annum. 

That the allowance of pay and rations to the persons to be appointed 
by the Secretary at War to assist him in superintending and safe- 
keeping prisoners of war shall not exceed 40 dollars per month and four 
rations per day, or subsistence equivalent, including what they may be 
entitled to as officers of the Army. 

September 22, 1782. — "By virtue of the power vested in the Commander in Chief 
by the resolve of the honorable the Congress of the 24th July last, Lieut. Col. Wm. S. 
Smith is appointed commissary of prisoners to the army in this quarter." {Orders, 
General Headquarters, Verplanck^s Point.) 

Octoher 23, 1782. 

Resolved, . . . That the following be the proportion of wagons 
and bathorses to the different ranks of officers, . 

* * * 

Commissary of prisoners, one two-horse wagon. 
Deputy commissary of prisoners, southern army, one two-horse 
waeron. 



* 



That there be allowed for saddle horses- 
* * 

Commissary of prisoners, 2 rations. 
Deputy with a separate army, 2 rations. 



STATUTES AT LARGE. 

Act of July 6, mm (2 Stats., 777). 
AN ACT for the safe-keeping and accommodation of prisoners of war.^ 

That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, author- 
ized to make such regulations and arrangements for the safe-keeping, 
support, and exchange of prisoners of war as he may deem expedient, 
until the same shall be otherwise provided for my law; . . 

' Repealed by act of March 3, 1817 (3-358). 



BUREAU OF REFUGEES, FREEDJIEN, AND 
ABANDONED LANDS. 



May 12, 1865. — Maj. Oliver O. Howard (Maine), Cijiiiiuissioiier. 
June 30, 1872. — Bureau discontinued. 



653 



BlTKEAl OF KEFUOEES, FREEDMEN, AND ABANDONED 

LANDS. 



STATUTES AT LARGE. 

AH of March 3, 1865 {IS Stats., 007). 
AX ACT l(j estalilish a ])ureau for the relief of freediueii an<l refiiirees. 

Tliiit there '\a hereby established in the War Department, to continue 
durino- the present war of rebellion and for one year thereafter, a 
Bureau of Refugees, Freednien, and Abandoned Lands, to which shall 
be committed, as hereinafter pro^ idod, the supervision and manage- 
ment of all abandoned lands and the control of all subjects relating to 
refugees and freednien from rel)el States, or from any district of 
countr}^ Avithin the territoiy embraced in the operations of the Army, 
under such rules and regulations as may be prescril)ed by the head of 
the Bureau and approved by the President. The said Bureau shall be 
under the management and control of a commissioner, to be appointed 
by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
whose compensation shall be three thousand dollars per annum, and 
such number of clerks as may be assigned to him by the Secretary of 
War, not exceeding one chief clerk, two of the fourth class, two of the 
third class, and tive of the first class. And the commissioner, and all 
persons appointed under this act, shall, before entering upon their 
duties, take the oath of office prescribed in an act entitled "An act to 
prescribe an oath of office, and for other purposes," approved July 
second, eighteen hundred and sixtv-two; and the commissioner and 
chief clerk shall, before entering upon their duties, give bonds to the 
Treasurer of the United States, the former in the sum of fifty thousand 
dollars and the latter in the sum of ten thousand dollars, conditioned 
for the faithful discharge of their duties, respectively, with securities 
to be approved as sufficient by the Attorney -General, which bonds 
shall be filed in the office of the First Comptroller of the Treasury, 
to be l>v him put in suit for the benefit of any injured party upon any 
breach of the conditions thereof. 

Sec. 2. That the Secretar}^ of War may direct such issues of pro- 
visions, clothing, and fuel as he may deem needful for the immediate 
and temporary shelter and supply of destitute and siifl'ering refugees 
and freedmen and their wives and children, under such rules and regu- 
lations as he may direct. 

Sec. 3. That the President may, b}- and with the advice and consent 
of the Senate, appoint an assistant commissioner for each of the States 
declared to be in insurrection, not exceeding ten in number, who shall, 
under the direction of the commissioner, aid in the execution of the 

655 



656 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENEEAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

provisions of this act, and he shall give a bond to the Treasurer of the 
United States in the sum of twenty thousand dollars, in the form and 
manner prescribed in the first section of this act. Each of said com- 
missioners shall receive an annual salary of two thousand five hundred 
dollars in full compensation for all his services. And any military 
officer may be detailed and assigned to duty under this act without 
increase of pay or allowances. The commissioner shall, before the 
commencement of each regular session of Congress, make full report 
of his proceedings, with exhibits of the state of his accounts, to the 
President, who shall communicate the same to Congress, and shall also 
make special reports whenever required to do so by the President or 
either House of Congress; and the assistant commissioners shall make 
quarterly reports of their proceedings to the commissioner, and also 
such other special reports as from time to time may be required. 

Sec. -Jr. That the commissioner, under the direction of the Presi- 
dent, shall have authority to set apart for the use of loyal refugees 
and freedmen such tracts of land within the insurrectionary States as 
shall have been abandoned, or to which the United States shall have 
acquired title by confiscation or sale, or otherwise; and to every male 
citizen, whether refugee or freedmen as aforesaid, there shall be 
assigned not more than forty acres of such land, and the person to 
whom it was so assigned shall be protected in the use and enjoyment 
of the land for the term of three years, at an annual rent not exceed- 
ing six per centum upon the value of such land as it was appraised by 
the State authorities in the year eighteen hundred and sixt}" for the 
purpose of taxation, and in case no such appraisal can be found, then 
the rental shall be based upon the estimated value of the land in said 
year, to be ascertained in such manner as the commissioner may by 
regulation prescribe. At the end of said term, or at an}^ time during 
said term, the occupants of any parcels so assigned ma}^ purchase the 
land, and receive such title thereto as the United States can convey, 
upon paying therefor the value of the land as ascertained and fixed for 
the purpose of determining the annual rent aforesaid. 



Act ofJvhi 16, 1866 {IJf, Stats., 173). 

AN ACT to continue in force and to amend "An act to establish a Bureau for the 
ReHef of Freedmen and Refugees," and for other purposes. 

That the act to establish a Bureau for the Relief of Freedmen and 
Refugees, approved March third, eighteen hundred and sixty-five, 
shall continue in force for the term of two years from and after the 
passage of this act. 

Sec. 2. That the supervision and care of said Bureau shall extend 
to all loyal refugees and freedmen, so far as the same shall be neces- 
sary to enable them as speedily as practicable to become self-support- 
ing citizens of the United States, and to aid them in making the 
freedom conferred by proclamation of the Commander in Chief, by 
emancipation under the laAvs of States, and by constitutional amend- 
ment, available to them and beneficial to the Republic. 

Sec. 3. That the President shall, by and with the advice and consent 
of the Senate, appoint two assistant commissioners in addition to those 
authorized by the act to which this is an amendment, who shall give 



BUREAU OF REFUGEES, FREEDMEIST, AND ABANDONED LANDS. 657 

like bonds and receive the same annual salaries provided in said act; 
and each of the assistant commissioners of the Bureau shall have 
charge of one district containing such refugees or freedmen, to be 
assigned him by the commissioner, with the approval of the President. 
And the commissioner shall, under the direction of the President, and 
so far as the same shall be, in his judgment, necessary for the efficient 
and economical administration of the affairs of the Bureau, appoint 
such agents, clerks, and assistants as may be required for the proper 
conduct of the Bureau. Military officers or enlisted men may be 
detailed for service and assigned to duty under this act, and the Presi- 
dent may, if in his judgment safe and judicious so to do, detail from 
the Army all the officers and agents of this Bureau; but no officer so 
assigned shall have increase of pay or allowances. Each agent or 
clerk, not heretofore authorized by law, not being a military officer, 
shall have an annual salary of not less than live hundred dollars nor 
more than twelve hundred dollars, according to the service required of 
him. And it shall be the duty of the commissioner, when it can be 
done consistently with public interest, to appoint, as assistant com- 
missioners, agents, and clerks, such men as have proved their loyalty 
by faithful service in the armies of the Union during the rebellion. 
And all persons appointed to service under this act and the act to 
which this is an amendment shall be so far deemed in the military 
service of the United States as to be under the military jurisdiction 
and entitled to the military protection of the Government while in the 
discharge of the duties of their office. 

Sec. tt. .That officers of the Veteran Reserve Corps or of the volun- 
teer service now on duty in the Freedmen's Bureau as assistant 
commissioners, agents, medical officers, or in other capacities, whose 
regiments or corps have been or may hereafter be mustered out of 
service, may be retained upon such duty as officers of said Bureau, 
with the same compensation as is now provided by law for their 
respective grades; and the Secretary of War shall have power to fill 
vacancies until other officers can be detailed in their places without 
detriment to the public service. 

Sec. 5. That the second section of the act to which this is an amend- 
ment shall be deemed to authorize the Secretary of War to issue such 
medical stores or other supplies and transportation and afford such 
medical or other aid as may be needful for the purposes named in said 
section: Provided, That no person shall be deemed "destitute," "suf- 
fering," or "dependent upon the Government for support," within 
the meaning of this act, who is able to find employment, and could, by 
proper industry and exertion, avoid such destitution, suffering, or 

dependence. 

* * * 

Sec. 9. That the assistant commissioners for South Carolina and 
Georgia are hereby authorized to examine all claims to lands in their 
respective States which are claimed under the provisions of General 
Sherman's special field order, and to give each person having a valid 
claim a warrant upon the direct tax commissioners for South Carolina 
for twenty acres of land, and the said direct tax commissioners shall 
issue to every person, or to his or her heirs, but in no case to any 
assigns, presenting such warrant, a lease of twenty acres of land, as 
provided for in section seven, for the term of six years; but at any 
time thereafter, upon the paA^meut of a sum not exceeding one dollar 

S. Doc. 229 i2 



658 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

and fifty cents per acre, the person holding such lease shall be entitled 

to a certificate of sale of said tract of twenty acres from the direct tax 

commissioners or such officer as may l)e authorized to issue the same; 

but no warrant shall be held valid longer than two years after the issue 

of the same. 

* * * 

Sec. 12. That the commissioner shall have power to seize, hold, use, 
lease, or sell all buildings and tenements, and any lands appertaining to 
the same, or otherwise, former}}' held under color of title by the late 
so-called Confederate States, and not heretofore disposed of b}" the 
United States, and any buildings or lands held in trust for the same by 
any person or persons, and to use the same or appropriate the proceeds 
derived therefrom to the education of the freed people; and whenever 
the Bureau shall cease to exist such of said so-called Confederate States 
as .shall have made provision for the education of their citizens with- 
out distinction of color shall receive the sum remaining unexpended 
of such sales or rentals, which shall be distributed among said States 
for educational purposes in proportion to their population. 

Sec. 13. That the commissioner of this Bureau shall at all times 
cooperate with private benevolent associations of citizens in aid of 
f reedmen, and with agents and teachers didy accredited and appointed 
by them, and shall hire or provide by lease buildings for purposes of 
education whenever such association shall, without cost to the Govern- 
ment, proAnde suitable teachers and means of instruction; and he shall 
furnish such protection as may be required for the .safe conduct of 
such schools. 

Sec. 14. That in every State or district where the ordinary course 
of judicial proceedings has been interrupted by the rebellion, and until 
the same shall l)e fully restored, and in ever^^ State or district whose 
constitutional relations to the Government have been practically dis- 
continued by the rebellion, and until such State shall have been restored 
in such relations and shall be duly represented in the Congress of the 
United States, the right to make and enforce contracts, to sue, be 
parties, and give evidence, to inherit, purchase, lease, sell, hold, and 
convey real and personal proi)erty, and to have full and equal benefit 
of all laws and proceedings concerning personal liberty, personal 
security, and the acquisition, enjoyment, and disposition of estate, real 
and personal, including the constitutional right to bear arms, shall be 
secured to and enjoyed by all the citizens of such State or district, with- 
out respect to race or color or previous condition of slavery. And when- 
ever in either of said States or districts the ordinary course of judicial 
proceedings has been interrupted by the rebellion, and until the same 
shall l)e fully restored, and until such State shall have been restored 
in its constitutional relations to the Government and shall be duly 
represented in the Congress of the United States, the President shall, 
through the commissioner and the officers of the bureau, and under such 
rules and regulations as the President, through the Secretary of War, 
shall prescribe, extend military protection and have military jurisdic- 
tion over all cases and questions concerning the free enjoyment of 
such immunities and rights; and no penalty or punishment for an}' 
violation of law shall be imposed or permitted because of race or color 
or previous condition of slaver}^, other or greater than the penalty or 
pvinishment to which white persons may bo liable by law for the like 
offense. But the jurisdiction conferred by this section upon the officers 
of the bureau shall not exist in any State where the ordinar}^ course of 



BUEEAU OF REFUGEES, FREEDMEN, AND ABANDONED LANDS. 659 

judicial proceedinos has not been interrupted by the rebellion, and 
shall cease in every State when the courts of the State and the United 
States are not disturbed in the peaceable course of justice, and after 
such State shall be full}' restored in its constitutional relations to the 
Government and shall l)e dulv represented in the Congress of the 
United States. 

Sec. 15. That all officers, agents, and employees of this bureau, 
before entering upon the duties of their office, shall take the oath pre- 
scribed in the first section of the act to which this is an amendment, 
and all acts or parts of acts inconsistent with the provisions of this act 
are hereby repealed. 

Act of March ?J, 1S67 {IJ^ Stats., Jf85). 

AN ACT making ai)pr()priationn for the support of tlie Army for tlie year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and sixty-eight, and for other purposes. 



Sec. 5. That it shall be the dut}' ... of the Freedmen's 
Bureau to prohibit and prevent whipping or maiming of the person 
as a punishment for any crime, misdemeanor, or offense, by any pre- 
tended civil or military authority in any State lately in rebellion until 
the civil government of such State shall have been restored and shall 
have been recognized by the Congress of the United States. 



Act of March ?2, 1S67 {U Stats., 5^). 

AN ACT to regulate tlie disposition of an irregular fund in the custody of the 

Freedmen's Bureau. 

Whereas the Commissioner of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, 
and Abandoned Landis reports a retained bounty fund, derived from a 
portion of the State bounties of certain colored soldiers enlisted in 
Virginia and North Carolina during the years eighteen hundred and 
sixt3'-foiir and eighteen himdred and sixty-five, and by virtue of 
General Order Number Ninet}^, Department of Virginia and North 
Carolina, series of eighteen hundred and sixt3'-four, holden by the 
superintendent of freedmen's affairs, but turned over to the said freed- 
men's bureau upon its organization; and whereas the said commissioner 
has in his possession the names of those soldiers from whom the said 
mone}^ was taken; and whereas he has uniformly returned the same 
upon the application or discovery of legal representatives, but retains 
a considerable portion thereof belonging to soldiers who are either 
decoiised or who can not be found: Therefore, 

That the said Commissioner of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, 
and Abandoned Lands, or his successor in office, be, and he is hereby, 
constituted the lawful custodian of said retained bounty fund, and 
appointed trustee of the same for the benefit of said colored soldiers 
or their lawful representatives. 

Sec. 2. That the said commissioner be, and he is hereby, specially 
authorized and empowered to invest the said fund, or any portion 
thereof, in bonds of the United States for the exclusive benefit of the 
said colored soldiers or their legal representatives: Provided, however. 
That a sufficient amount of the same in cash be retained uninvested to 



660 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

meet all lawful claims thereupon that will pr()l)ably ])e presented for 
payment: And provided furtlu')\ That any portion of the said fund 
which may remain unexpended when the said bureau shall cease to 
exist shall be accounted for by said commissioner to the Treasury of 
the United States. 

Resohition of March '29, 1867 {15 ^Sfats., 26). 

A RESOLUTION in reference to the collection and payment of moneys due colored 
soldiers, sailors, and marines, or their heirs. 

Re^olvedhy tlie Senate and House of Rej^remntatives of the Zmited States 
of America in Congress assemhled., That all checks and treasury certifi- 
cates to be issued in the settlement of claims for pay, bounty, prize 
money, or other moneys due to colored soldiers, sailors, or marines, 
or their legal representatives now residing, or who vlvaj have resided, 
in any State in which slavery existed in the year eighteen hundred 
and sixt}", the claim for which has been or may ])e prosecuted by an 
agent or attorney, shall be made payable to the commissioner of the 
Freedmen's Bureau, who shall pay the said agent or attornej^ his 
lawful fees and expenses, and shall hold the balance subject to the 
order of the claimants on satisfactory identification; but no money 
shall be paid to any person except the claimant or his or her legal 
representatives, if deceased; nor shall any power of attorney, transfer, 
or assignment of the amount of said claims, or any part thereof, be 
recognized or allowed l)y the commissioner, or by any oflicer or agent 
acting under him; and it shall be the duty of the said commissioner, 
the officers and agents of the Freedmen's Bureau, to facilitate as far 
as possible the discovery, identification, and paj'ment of the claimants. 

Sec. 2. And he it fvrtJier resolved^ That the commissioner of the 
Freedmen's Bureau shall be held responsil)le for the safe custody and 
faithful disbursement of the funds hereby intrusted to him. . . . 



Resolution of 3f arch JO, 1867 {16 Stats. ^ 28). 

A RESOLUTION for the relief of the destitute in the Southern and Southwestern 

States. 

Resolvedljy the Senate and House of Re})rei<entatires of the United States 
of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of War be, and 
hereby is, empowered and directed to issue supplies of food suflicient 
to prevent starvation and extreme want to any and all classes of des- 
titute or helpless persons of the people in those Southern and South- 
western States where a failure of the crops and other causes have 
occasioned widespread destitution; that the issues be through the Freed- 
men's Bureau, under such regulations as the Secretary of War shall 
prescribe. And to that end the Secretary of War is hereby authorized 
and directed, through the commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau, to 
apply so nmch as he may deem necessary for the purposes aforesaid of 
the unexpended mone^^s heretofore appropriated to supply freedmen 
and refugees witli provisions or rations: Provided, That the expendi- 
ture shall not extend beyond the present appropriations already made 
for the Freedmen's Bureau. 



BUREAU OF REFUGEES, FREEDMETST, AND ABANDONED LANDS. 661 

Resolution of '/(oixari/ .>'7, 1S68 {15 Stats. ^ 2Jf.6). 

JOINT RESOLITTTON for the relief of (lestitute persona in the Soutli. 

That the Secretary of War be hereby authorized to issue, for the 
relief of any and all classes ©f destitutes in the South, such desiccated 
potatoes and desiccated mixed vegetables as have accumulated during- 
the war and are not needed for use in the Army; the same to be issued 
under the direction of the commissioner of the Bureau of Refugees, 
Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands. 

March 10, 186S {15-41)- — Commissioner of Eefugees, Freedmen, and Al)andoned 
Lands charged with expenditure of the $15,000 appropriated for the rehef of the 
destitute in the District of Columbia. 

Act of July 6\ 18G8 {15 Stats., 83). 

AN ACT to continue the Bureau for the Relief of Freedmen and Eefugees, and for 

other 2^urposes. 

That the act entitled " An act to establish a Bureau for the Relief of 
Freedmen and Refugees,'' approved March three, eighteen hundred 
and sixty-live, and the act entitled '"An act to continue in force and to 
amend ' An act to esta1 )lish a Bureau for the Relief of Freedmen and 
Refugees,' and for other purposes," passed on the sixteenth of July, 
anno Domini eighteen hundred and sixty-six, shall continue in force 
for the term of one year from and after the sixteenth of July, in the 
3^ear one thousand eight hundred and sixt3-eight, excepting so far as 
the same shall be herein modified. And the Secretar}" of War is hereby 
directed to reestal)lish said bureau where the same has been wholh^ or 
in part discontinued: Provided., [That] he shall be satisfied that the 
personal safet}^ of freedmen shall require it. 

Sec. '1, That it shall be the dutj^ of the Secretary of War to dis- 
continue the operations of the bureau in any State whenever such 
State shall be full}^ restored in its constitutional relations with the 
Government of the United States, and shall be duly represented in the 
Congress of the United States, unless, upon advising with the com- 
missioner of the bureau, and upon full consideration of the condition 
of freedmen's affairs in such State, the Secretary of War shall be of 
cminion that the further continuance of the bureau shall be necessary: 
Provided.! hoivever, That the educational division of said bureau shall 
not be affected, or in any way interfered with, until such State shall 
have made suitable provision for the education of the children of 
freedmen within said State. 

Sec. 3. That unexpended balances in the hands of the commissioner 
not required otherwise for the due execution of the law may be, in the 
discretion of the commissioner, applied for the education of freedmen 
and refugees, subject to the provisions of laws applicable thereto. 

Sec. 4. That officers of th.e Veteran Reserve Corps, or of the volun- 
teer service, now on duty in the Freedmen's Bureau as assistant com- 
missioners, agents, medical officers, or in other capacities, who have 
been or may be mustered out of service, may be retained by the com- 
missioner, when the same shall ))e required for the proper execution 
of the laws, as officers of the bureau, upon such duty and with the 
same pay, compensation, and all allowances, from the date of their 
appointment, as now provided by law for their respective grades and 



662 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

duties at the dates of their muster out and discharge; and such officers 
so retained shall have, respectively, the same authority and jurisdiction 
as now conferred upon "officers of the bureau" by act of Congress 
passed on the sixteenth of July, in the year eighteen hundred and 
sixty-six. 

Sec. 5. That the commissioner is hereby empowered to sell for cash, 
or by installments with ample security, school buiMings and other 
buildings constructed for refugees and freedmen by the bureau, to the 
associations, corporate bodies, or trustees who now use them for pur- 
poses of education or relief of want, under suital)le guarantees that 
the purposes for which such buildings were constructed shall be 
observed: Provided., That all funds derived therefrom shall be returned 
to the bureau appropriation and accounted for to the Treasury of the 
United States. 

Act ofJxdy m, 186S {16 Stats., 193). 
AN ACT relating to the Freedmen's Bureau, ami i)roviding for its discontinuance. 

That the duties and powers of Commissioner of the Bureau for the 
Relief of Freedmen and Refugees shall continue to be discharged by the 
present commissioner of the bureau, and in case of vacancy in said 
office occurring by reason of his death or resignation, the same shall 
be filled by appointment of the President on the nomination of the 
Secretary of War, and with the advice and consent of the Senate; and 
no officer of the Army shall be detailed for service as commissioner or 
shall enter upon the duties of commissioner unless appointed by and 
with the advice and consent of the Senate; and all assistant commis- 
sioners, agents, clerks, and assistants shall be appointed by the Secre- 
tary of War, on the nomination of the commissioner of the bureau. 
In case of vacancy in the office of commissioner happening during 
the recess of the Senate, the duties of commissioner shall be discharged 
by the acting assistant adjutant-general of the bureau until such vacancy 
can be filled. 

Sec. 2. That the commissioner of the bureau shall, on the first day 
of January next, cause the said bureau to be withdrawn from the sev- 
eral States within which said bureau has acted, and its operations shall 
be discontinued. But the educational department of the said bureau, 
and the collection and payment of moneys due the soldiers, sailors, and 
marines, or their heirs, shall be continued as now provided bylaw until 
otherwise ordered by act of Congress. 

Act of April 7, 1869 {16 Stats., 8). 

AN ACT relating to freedmen's hospitals. 

That the commissioner of the Bureau of Refugees and Freedmen is 
authorized and directed to continue the freedmen's hospitals at Rich- 
mond, Virginia; Vicksburg, Mississippi; and in the District of Colum- 
bia, including the asylum for aged and infirm freedmen and for orphan 
children: Provided , That the expense thereof shall be paid by the com- 
missioner out of moneys heretofore appropriated for the use of the 
bureau: And jprovlded further. That said hospitals shall be discon- 
tinued as soon as may be practicable in the discretion of the President 
of the United States. 



BUEEAU OF REFUGEES, FREEDMEN, AND ABANDONED LANDS. 663 

Act of June 10, 1872 {17 Stats., 347).' 

AN ACT making; apiiropriatioiis for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the 
fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-three, and for 
other purposes. 

•X- * * 

BureaxLof Refugees, Fre€dm,en,€indA})andoned Lands. . . . Pro- 
vlded^ That the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands 
shall be discontinued from and after June thirtieth, eighteen hundred 
and seventy-two. 

•X- -x- * 

December 15, 1877 {30-7) . — In the event of the work of collecting and paying 
bounty and other claims of colored soldiers and sailors not being finished before 
January 1, 1879, the bureau to be closed and all papers connected therewith to be 
turned over to the Paymaster-General. 

^The unfinished business of the bureau was turned over to the Adjutant-General 
July 1, 1872. The bureau of colored troops, in his oflice, was finally closed June 
30, 1879. 



PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERAL'S RDREAU. 



Mar. 17, 1863.— CoL (Brig. Gen., April 21, 1864) Jaines P.. Fry (Illinois), 
Aug. 28, 1866. — Bureau discontinued. 



665 



668 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

enemy, who shall, without unreasonable delay, be delivered to the cus- 
tody of the general commanding the department in which they may be 
arrested, to l)e tried as soon as the exigencies of the service permit; 
to obey all lawful orders and regulations of the J*rovost-Marshal- 
General, and such as may be prescribrd by law, concerning the enroll- 
ment and calling into service of the national forces. 

Sec. S. That in each of said districts there shall be a board of 
enrollment, to be composed of the provost-marshal, as president, and 
two other persons, to be appointed by the President of the United 
States, one of whom shall be a licensed and practicing physician and 
surgeon. 

Sec. [). That it shall be the duty of the said board to divide the dis- 
tricts into subdistricts of convenient size, if they shall deem it neces- 
sary, not exceeding two, without the direction of the Secretary of 
Wai, and to appoint, on or l^efore the tenth day of March next, and 
in each alternate year thereafter, an enrolling officer for each subdis- 
trict and to furnish him with proper l)lanks and instructions; and he 
shall immediately proceed to enrol all persons subject to military duty, 
noting their respective places of residence, ages on the first day of 
Jul}' following, and their occupation, and shall, on or before the lirst 
day of April, report the same to the board of enrolment, to be con- 
solidated into one list, a copy of which shall l)e transmitted to the Pro- 
vost-Marshal-General on or before the first day of May succeeding the 
enrolment: Provided, /i evert he! ess, That if, from any cause, the duties 
prescribed by this section can not be performed within the time speci- 
fied, then the same shall be performed as soon thereafter as practicable. 

Sec. 10. That the enrolment of each class shall be made separate!}', 
and shall oidy embrace those whose ages shall be on the first day of 
July thereafter between twenty and forty-five years. 

Sec. 11. That all persons thus enrolled shall be subject, for two 
years after the first day of July succeeding the enrollment, to be called 
into the military service of the United States, and to continue in service 
during the present rebellion, not, however, exceeding the term of three 
years; and when called into service shall be placed on the same foot- 
ing, in all respects, as volunteers for three years or during the war, 
including advance pay and bounty as now provided b}^ law. 

Sec. 12. That whenever it may be necessary to call out the national 
forces for military service, the President is hereby authorized to assign 
to each district the number of men to be furnished by said district; 
and thereupon the enrolling board shall, under the direction of the 
President, make a draft of the required number, and fif t}^ per cent in 
addition, and shall make an exact and complete roll of the names of 
the persons so drawn, and of the order in which they were drawn, so 
that the first drawn may stand first upon the said roll, and the second 
may stand second, and so on. And the person so drawn shall be noti- 
fied of the same within ten da3's thereafter by a written or printed 
notice, to be served personally or by leaving a copy at the last place 
of residence, requiring them to appear at a designated rendezvous to 
report for duty. In assigning to the districts the number of men to 
be furnished therefrom, the President shall take into consideration 
the lumiber of volunteers and militia furnished by and from the several 
States in which said districts are situated, and the period of their serv- 
ice since the conmiencement of the pi-csent rel)ellion, and shall so make 
said assignment as to equalize the luunhers among the distrit-ts of the 



provost-marshal-general's bureau. 669 

several States, considering- and allowing for the numbers already fur- 
nished as aforesaid and the time of their service. 

Sec. 13. That any person drafted and notified to appear as afore- 
said may, on or before the day fixed for his appearance, furnish an 
acceptable sul;stitute to take his place in the draft, or he ma}^ pay to 
such person as the Secretary of War may authorize to receive it, such 
sum, not exceeding- three hundred dollars, as the Secretary niay deter- 
mine, for the procuration of such substitute, which sum shall be fixed 
at a uniform rate l)y a general order made at the time of ordering a 
draft for any State or Territory; and thereupon such person so fur- 
nishing the substitute, or paying the money, shall be discharged from 
further liability under that draft. And any person failing to report 
after due service of notice as herein prescribed, without furnishing 
a substitute, or paying the required sum therefor, shall be deemed a 
deserter, and shall be arrested by the provost-marshal and sent to the 
nearest military post for trial by court-martial, unless, upon proper 
showing that he is not lial)le to do military duty, the board of enrol- 
ment shall relievo him from the draft. 

Sec. IJr. That all drafted persons shall, on arriving at the rendezvous, 
be carefully inspected ))y the surgeon of the board, who shall truly 
report to the board the ph3\sical condition of each one; and all persons 
drafted and claiming exemption from military duty on account of dis- 
a])ility, or any other cause, shall present their claims to be exempted 
to the board, whose decision shall be final. 

Sec. 15. That any surgeon charged with the duty of such inspection 
who shall receive from any person whomsoever any money or other 
vahiable thing, or agree, directly or indirectly, to receive the same to 
his own or another's use for making an imperfect inspection or a false 
or incorrect report, or who shall wilfully neglect to make a faithful 
inspection and true report, shall be tried b}^ a court-martial, and, on 
conviction thereof, be punished by fine not exceeding five hundred dol- 
lars nor less than two hundred, and be imprisoned at the discretion of 
the court, and be cashiered and dismissed from the service. 

Sec. 16. That as soon as the required number of able-bodied men 
liable to do military duty shall be obtained from the list of those 
drafted, the remainder shall be discharged. And all drafted persons 
reporting at the place of rendezvous shall be allowed travelling pay 
from their places of residence; and all persons discharged at the place 
of rendezvous shall be allowed travelling pay to their places of resi- 
dence; and all expenses connected with the enrollment and draft, 
including subsistence while at the rendezvous, shall be paid from the 
appropriation for enrolling and drafting, under such regulations as the 
President of the United States shall prescribe; and all expenses con- 
nected with the arrest and return of deserters to their regiments, or 
such other duties as the provost-niarshals shall be called upon to per- 
form, shall be paid from the appropriation for arresting deserters, 
under .such regulations as the President of the United States shall pre- 
scribe: Provided^ The provost-marshals shall in no case receive com- 
nuitation for transportation, or for fuel and quarters, but only for 
forage, when not furnished by the Government, together with actual 
expenses of postage, stationery, and clerk hire authorized by the 
Provost-jSIarshal-General. 

Sec. 17. That any person enrolled and drafted according to the pro- 
visions of this act who shall furnish an acceptable substitute shall 



()70 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

thereupon receive from the board of enrolhnent a certificate of dis- 
charge from yuch draft, which shall exempt him from military duty 
during- the time for which he was drafted; and such substitute shall 
be entitled to the same pay and allowances provided by law as if he 
had been originally drafted into the service of the United States. 



Act of March 3, 1863 {12 Stats,, 7U)- 

AN ACT making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for 
the year ending June thirty, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, and for the year 
ending the 30 [th] of June, 1863, and for other purposes. 

* * * • 

Sec. 5. That the surgeon and the citizen at large, who are, with the 
provost-marshal, to form the enrolling board of each Congressional 
district, shall receive the compensation of an assistant surgeon of the 
army, excluding commutation for fuel and quarters, for the time 
actually employed; . . . 



Act of February ^^, ISGJ^. {13 Stats., 6). 

AN ACT to amend an act entitled "An act for enrolling and calling out the national 
forces, and for other purposes," approved March third, eighteen hundred and 
sixty-three. 

That the President of the United States shall be authorized, when- 
ever he shall deem it necessary, during the present war, to call for 
such number of men for the military service of the United States as 
the public exigencies may require. 

Sec. 2. That the quota of each ward of a city, town, township, pre- 
cinct, or election district, or of a county, where the county is not 
divided into wards, towns, townships, precincts, or election districts, 
shall be, as nearly as possible, in proportion to the number of men 
resident therein liable to render military service, taking into account, 
as far as practicable, the number which has been previously furnished 
therefrom; and in ascertaining and filling said quota there shall be 
taken into account the number of men who have heretofore entered 
the naval service of the United States, and whose names are borne 
upon the enrollment lists as already returned to the office of the 
provost-marshal of the United States. 

Sec. 3. That if the quotas shall not be filled within the time desig- 
nated by the President, the provost-marshal of the district within 
which any ward of a city, town, township, precinct, or election district, 
or county, where the same is not divided into wards, towns, townships, 
precincts, or election districts, which is deficient in its quota, is situ- 
ated, shall, under the direction of the Provost-Marshal-General, make 
a draft for the number deficient therefrom; but all volunteers who may 
enlist after the draft shall have been ordered, and before it shall be 
actually made, shall be deducted from the number ordered to be drafted 
in such ward, town, township, precinct, or election district, or county. 
And if the quota of any district shall not be filled by the draft made in 
accordance with the provisions of this act, and the act to which it is an 
amendment, further drafts shall be made, and like proceedings had, 
until the quota of such district shall be filled. 



provost-maeshal-general's bureau. 671 

Sec. i. That any person enrolled under the provisions of the act for 
enrolling and calling out the national forces, and for other purposes, 
approved March third, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, or who may 
be hereafter so enrolled, may furnish, at any time previous to the draft, 
an acceptable substitute, who is not liable to draft, nor, at the time, in 
the military or naval service of the United States; and such person so 
furnishing a substitute shall be exempt from draft during the time for 
which such substitute shall not be liable to draft, not exceeding the 
time for which such substitute shall have been accepted. 

Sec. 5. Thatany person drafted into the military service of the United 
States may, before the time lixed for his appearance for duty at the 
draft rendezvous, furnish an acceptable substitute, subject to such rules 
and regulations as may be prescribed by the Secretary of War; that 
if such substitute is not liable to draft, the person furnishing him shall 
be exempt from draft during the time for which such substitute is not 
liable to draft, not exceeding the term for which he was drafted; and if 
such substitute is liable to draft, the name of the person furnishing him 
shall again be placed on the roll, and shall be liable to draft on future 
calls, but not until the present enrollment shall be exhausted; and this 
exemption shall not exceed the term for which such person shall have 
been drafted. And any person now in the military or naval service of 
the United States, not physically disqualified, who has so served moj-e 
than one year, and whose term of unexpired service shall not at the 
time of substitution exceed six months, may be employed as a substi- 
tute to serve in the troops of the State in which he enlisted; and if any 
drafted person shall hereafter pay money for the procuration of a sub- 
stitute, under the provisions of the act to which this is an amendment, 
such payment of monej^ shall operate onl}^ to relieve such person from 
draft in filling that quota; and his name shall be retained on the roll 
in tilling future quotas; but in no instance shall the exemption of any 
person, on account of his payment of commutation money for the pro- 
curation of a substitute, extend beyond one year; but at the end of 
one 3 ear, in every such case, the name of any person so exempted 
shall be enrolled again, if not before returned to the enrollment list 
under the provisions of this section. 

Sec. i). That boards of enrollment shall enroll all persons liable to 
draft under the provisions of this act, and the act to which this is an 
amendment, whose names may have l)een omitted by the proper enroll- 
ing officers; all persons who shall arrive at the age of twenty years 
before the draft; all aliens who shall declare their intention to become 
citizens; all persons discharged from the military or naval service of 
the United States who have not been in such service two years during 
the present war; and all persons who have been exempted under the 
provisions of the second section of the act to which this is an amendment, 
but who are not exempted by the provisions of this act; and said boards 
of enrollment shall release and discharge from draft all persons Avho, 
between the time of the enrollment and the draft, shall have arrived 
at the age of forty-five years, and shall strike the names of such per- 
sons from the enrollment. 

Sec. 7. That any mariner, or able or ordinary seaman, who shall be 
drafted under this act, or the act to which this is an amendment, shall 
have the right, withm eight da3'S after the notification of such draft, 
to enlist in the naval service as a seaman; and a certificate that he has 
so enlisted being made out, in conformity with regulations which may 



672 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

be prescribed by the Secretary of the Navy, and duly presented to the 
provost-niarshai of the district in which such mariner, or able or ordi- 
nary seaman, shall have been drafted, shall exempt him from such draft: 
Provided^ That the period for which he shall have enlisted into the 
naval service shall not be less than the period for which he shall have 
been drafted into the military service: And ■provided furtler^ That the 
said certificate shall declare that satisfactory proof has been made 
before the naval officer issuing the same that the said person so enlist- 
ing in the Navy is a mariner by vocation, or an able or an ordinary 
seaman. And any person now in the militar}^ service of the United 
States who shall furnish satisfactory proof that he is a mariner by 
vocation, or an able or ordinary seaman, may enlist into the Navy under 
such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the President of 
the United States: Provided^ That such enlistment shall not be for 
less than the unexpired term of his military service, nor for less than 
one year. And the bounty money which an}^ mariner or seaman, 
enlisting from the Army into the Navy, may have received from the 
United States, or from the State in which he enlisted in the Army, 
shall l)e deducted from the prize money to which he may become 
entitled during the time required to complete his military service: 
Andprovldedfai'thei\ That the whole number of such transfer enlist- 
ments shall not exceed ten thousand. 

Sec. 8. That whenever any such mariner or able or ordinary seaman 
shall have been exempted from such draft in the military service by such 
enlistment into the naval service, under such due certificate thereof, 
then the ward, town, township, precinct, or election district, or county, 
when the same is not divided into wards, towns, townships, precincts, 
or election districts, from which such person has been drafted shall be 
credited with his services to all intents and purposes as if he had been 
duly mustered into the military service under such draft. 

Sec. 9. That all enlistments into the naval service of the United 
States, or into the Marine Corps of the United States, that may here- 
after be made of persons liable to service under the act of Congress 
entitled "An act for enrolling and calling out the national forces, and 
for other purposes," approved March third, eighteen hundred and sixt}'- 
three, shall be credited to the ward, town, township, precinct, or elec- 
tion district, or county, when the same is not divided into wards, towns, 
townships, precincts, or election districts, in which such enlisted men 
were or may be enrolled and liable to duty under the act aforesaid, 
under such regulations as the provost-marshal-general of the United 
States may prescribe. 

Sec. 10. That the following persons be, and they are hereby, exempted 
from enrollment and draft under the provisions of this act, and of the 
act to which this is an amendment, to wit: Such as are rejected as 
physically or mentally unfit for the service, all persons actuall}" in the 
military or naval serA'ice of the United States at the time of the draft, 
and all persons wlio have served in the military or naval service two 
years during the present war and been honorably discharged therefrom; 
and no persons but such as are herein exempted shall be exempt. 

Sec. 11. That section third of the "Act for enrolling and calling out 
the national forces, and for other purposes," approved ISIarch third, 
eighteen hundred and sixtj^-three, and so much of section ten of said 
act as provides for the separate enrollment of each class, be, and the 
same are herebj^, repealed; and it shall be the duty of the board of 



PROVOST-MARSH AL-GENEEAL's BUREAU. 673 

enrollment of each district to consolidate the two classes mentioned in 
the third section of said act. 

Sec, 12. That an}^ person who shall forciblj'^ resist or oppose any 
enrollment, or who shall incite, counsel, or encourage, or who shall 
conspire or confederate with any other person or persons forcibly to 
resist or oppose any such enrollment, or who shall aid or assist or take 
any part in any forcible resistance or opposition thereto, or who shall 
assault, obstruct, hinder, impede, or threaten any officer or other per- 
son employed in making" or in aiding to make such enrollment, or 
employed in the performance or in aiding in the performance of any 
service in any wa}" relating thereto or in arresting or aiding to arrest 
any spy or deserter from the military service of the United States, 
shall, upon conviction thereof in any court competent to try the offense, 
be punished by a line not exceeding live thousand dollai's or b}^ impris- 
onment not exceeding fi\'e years, or by both of said punishments, in 
the discretion of the court. And in cases where such assaulting, 
obstructing, hindering, or impeding shall produce the death of such 
officer or other person, the offender shall be deemed guilty of murder, 
and, upon conviction thereof upon indictment in the circuit court of 
the United States for the district within which the offense was com- 
mitted, shall be pwnished with death. And nothing in this section con- 
tained shall be construed to relieve the party offending from liability, 
under proper indictment or process, for any crime against the laws of 
a State committed by him while violating the provisions of this section. 

Sec. 13. That the Secretary of War shall be authorized to detail or 
appoint such number of additional surgeons for temporary duty in the 
examination of persons drafted into the military service in any dis- 
trict as may be necessarv to secure the prompt examination of all 
such person.s and to ffx the compensation to be paid surgeons so 
appointed while actually employed; and such surgeons so detailed or 
appointed shall perform the same duties as the surgeon of the board 
of enrollment, except that they shall not be permitted to vote or sit 
with the board of enrollment. 

Sec. 14. That the Secretary of War is authorized, whenever in his 
judgment the public interest will be subserved thereby, to permit or 
rec^uire boards of examination of enrolled or drafted men to hold their 
examinations at different points within their respective enrollment 
districts, to ])e determined l)}^ him: Provided^ Tl'hat in all districts over 
one hundred miles in extent, and in such as are composed of over ten 
counties, the board shall hold their sessions in at least two places in 
such district, and at such points as are best calculated to accommodate 
the people thereof. 

Sec. 15. That provost-marshals, boards of enrollment, or any mem- 
ber thereof acting by authority of the board, shall have power to 
summon witnesses in behalf of the Government and enforce their 
attendance by attachment, without previous payment of fees, in any 
case pending before them, or either of them; and the fees allowed for 
witnesses attending under sunmions shall be six cents per mile for 
mileage, counting one way; and no other fees or costs shall be allowed 
under the provisions of this section; and they shall have power to 
administer oaths and affirmations. And any person who shall wilfull}^ 
and corruptly swear or affirm falsely Ijefore any provost-marshal or 
board of enrollment, or member thereof acting by authority of the 
board, or who shall before any civil magistrate wilfully and corruptl}'^ 

S. Doc. 229 13 



674 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

swear or affirm falsely to any affidavit to be used in any case pending 
before any provost-marshal or board of enrollment, shall on convic- 
tion be lined not exceedins; five hundred dollars, and imprisoned not 
less than six months nor more than twelve months. The drafted men 
shall have process to bring- in witnesses, but without mileage. 

Sec. 16. That copies of any record of a provost-marshal or board of 
enrollment, or of any part thereof, certified by the provost-marshal 
or a majority of said ])oard of enrollment, shall be deemed and taken 
as evidence in any civil or military court in like manner as the original 
record: Provided^ That if any person shall knowingly certify any false 
copy or copies of such record, to be used in any civil or military court, 
he shall be sulrject to the pains and penalties of perjury. 

Sec. 17. That members of religious denominations, who shall by 
oath or affirmation declare that they are conscientiousl}^ opposed to the 
bearing of arms, and who are prohibited from doing so by the rules 
and articles of faith and practice of said religious denomination, shall, 
when drafted into the military service, be considered noncombatants, 
and shall be assigned by the Secretary of War to duty in the hospitals, 
or to the care of freed men, or shall pay the sum of three hundred 
dollars to such person as the Secretary of War shall designate to 
receive it, to be applied to the benefit of the sick and wounded soldiers: 
Provided^ That no person shall be entitled to the benefit of the pro- 
visions of this section unless his declaration of conscientious scruples 
against bearing arms shall be supported by satisfactory evidence that 
his deportment has been uniformly consistent with such declaration. 

Sec. 18. That no person of foreign birth shall, on account of alien- 
age, be exempted from enrollment or draft under the provisions of 
this act, or the act to which it is an amendment, who has at any time 
assumed the rights of a citizen by voting at any election held under 
authority of the laws of any State or Territory, or of the United States, 
or who has held any office under such laws, or any of them; Init the 
fact that any such person of foreign l)irth has voted or held, or shall 
vote or hold office as aforesaid, shall bo taken as conclusive evidence 
that he is not entitled to exemption from military service on account 
of alienage. 

Sec. 19. That all claims to exemption shall he verified by the oath 
or affirmation of the party claiming exemption to the truth of the facts 
stated, unless it shall satisfactorily appear to the board of enrollment 
that such party is, for some good and sufficient reason, unable to make 
such oath or affirmation; and the testimony of any other party filed 
in support of a claim to exemption shall also be made upon oath or 
affirmation. 

Sec. 20. That if any person drafted and liable to render military 
service shall procure a decision of the board of enrollment in his favor 
upon a claim to exemption by any fraud or false representation practised 
by himself or by his procurement, such decision or exemption shall be 
of no eflfect, and the person exempted, or in whose favor the decision 
may be made, shall be deemed a deserter, and may be arrested, tried by 
court-martial, and punished as such, and shall be held to service for 
the full term for which he was drafted, reckoning from the time of his 
arrest: Provided^ That the Secretary of War may order the discharge 
of all persons in the military service who are under the age of eighteen 
3^ears at the time of the application for their discharge when it shall 
appear upon due proof that such persons are in the service without the 



provost-marshal-general's bureau. 675 

consent, either express or implied, of their parents or guardians: And 
jpromded further^ That such persons, their parents or guardians, shall 
first repay to the Government and to the State and local authorities all 
bounties and advance pay which may have been paid to them, anything 
in the act to which this is an amendment to the contrary notwith- 
standing. 

Sec. 21. That any person who shall procure, or attempt to procure, 
a false report from the surgeon of the l)oard of enrollment concerning 
the physical condition of any drafted person, or a decision in favor of 
such person by the board of enrollment upon a claim to exemption, 
knowing the same to be false, shall, upon conviction in any district or 
circuit court of the United States, be punished by imprisonment for 
the period for which the party was drafted. 

Sec. 22. That the fees of agents and attorneys for making out and 
causing to be executed any papers in support of a claim for exemption 
from draft, or for any services that ma}^ be rendered to the claimant, 
shall not, in any case, exceed five dollars; and physicians or surgeons 
fu]-nishingcertificat(\sof disability to any claimant for exemption from 
draft shall not be entitled to any fees or comi)ensation therefor. And 
any agent or attorney who shall, directly or indirectly, demand or 
receive any greater compensation for his services under this act, and 
any physician or surgeon who shall, directly or indirectly, demand or 
receive any compensation for furnishing said certificates of disability, 
and any officer, clerk, or deputy connected with the board of enroll- 
ment who shall receive compensation from any drafted man for any 
services, or obtaining the performance of such service required from any 
member of said board by the provisions of this act, shall be deemed 
guilty of a high misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall, for every 
such oft'ense, be fined not exceeding five hundred dollars, to be recov- 
ered upon information or indictment Ijcfore any court of competent 
jurisdiction, one-half for the use of any informer, who may prosecute 
for the same in the name of the United States, and the other half for the 
use of the United States; and shall also be subject to imprisonment 
for a term not exceeding one year, at the discretion of the court. 

Sec. 23. That no member of the board of enrollment, and no sur- 
geon detailed or employed to assist the board of enrollment, and no 
clerk, assistant, or employee of any provost-marshal or board of 
enrollment, shall, directly or indirectly, be engaged in procuring, or 
attempting to procure, substitutes for persons drafted, or liable to be 
drafted, into the military service of the United States. And if any 
member of a board of enrollment, or any such surgeon, clerk, assist- 
ant, or emplo3^ee, shall procure, or attempt to procure, a substitute 
for any person drafted, or liable to be drafted, as aforesaid, he shall 
be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall, upon conviction, be 
punished l)y imprisonment not less than thirty days nor more than six 
months, and pay a fine not less than one hundred nor more than one 
thousand dollars, l)y any court competent to try the ofi'ense. 

Sec. 24. That all able-bodied male colored persons between the ages 
of twenty and forty-five years, resident in the United States, shall be 
enrolled according to the provisions of this act, and of the act to 
which this is an amendment, and form part of the national forces; and 
when a slave of a loyal master shall be drafted and mustered into the 
service of the United States his master shall have a certificate thereof; 
and thereupon such slave shall be free, and the bounty of one hun- 



676 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

dred dollars now payable by law for each drafted man shall be paid 
to the person to whom such drafted person was owing- service or labor 
at the time of his muster into the service of the United States. The 
Secretary of War shall appoint a commission in each of the slave States 
represented in Congress, charged to award to each loj^al person to 
whom a colored volunteer may owe service a just compensation, not 
exceeding three hundred dollars for each such colored volunteer, paya- 
l)leout of the fund derived from comnmtations; and every such colored 
volunteer on being- mustered into the service shall be free. And in all 
cases where men of color have been heretofore enlisted, or have vol- 
unteered in the military service of the United States, all the provisions 
of this act, so far as the pa3'ment of bounty and compensation are pro- 
vided, shall be equally applicable as to those who may l)e hereafter re- 
cruited. But men of color, drafted or enlisted, or who may volunteer 
into the military service, while they shall be credited on the quotas of 
the several States or subdivisions of States wherein they are respect- 
ively drafted, enlisted, or shall volunteer, shall not ])e assigned as State 
troops, but shall bo mustered into regiments or companies as United 
States colored troops. 

Sec. 25. That the hfteenth section of the act to which this is amend- 
atory be so amended that it will read as follows: That any surgeon 
charged with the duty of such inspection who shall receive from any 
person whomsoever any money or other valuable thing, or agree, 
directly or indirectly, to receive the same to his own or another's use, 
for making an imperfect inspection or a false or incorrect report, or 
who shall wilfully neglect to make a faithful inspection and true report, 
and each memlter of the board of enrollment who shall wilfully agree 
to the discharge from service of any drafted person who is not legally 
and properly entitled to such discharge, shall be tried by a court- 
martial, and, on conviction thei'eof, be .punished by a line not less than 
three hundred dollars and not more than ten thousand dollars, shall l)e 
imprisoned at the discretion of the court, and be cashiered and dis- 
missed the service. 

Sec. 26. That the words ''precinct'' and "election district," as used 
in this act, shall not ])e construed to require any subdivision for pur- 
poses of enrollment and draft less than the wards into which any city 
or village may be divided, or than the towns or townships into which 
any county ma}^ be divided. 

Sec. 27. That so much of the act entitled "An act for enrolling and 
calling out the national forces, and for other purposes," approved 
March third, eighteen hundred and sixty -thi-ee, as may be inconsistent 
with the provisions of this act is hereby repealed. 

Rewlutlon of Felruarij ^J^, ISSJ^ {13 Stats., 4.03). 

A RESOLUTION relative to the transfer of persons in the military servire to the 

naval service.' 

First. That the provost-marshal-general be, and is herein, directed 
to enlist such persons as may desire to enter into the naval service of 
the United States, under such directions as may ])e given by the Sec- 
retary of War and the Secretary of the Navy, which enlistments shall 
be credited to the appropriate district: Provided^ nevertheless, That inas- 

1 Repealed by Act of June 3, 1864 (13-119). 



peovost-marshal-geneeal's bueeau. 677 

much as persons enlisted in the naval service receive prize money, per- 
sons so enlisiing shall not be entitled to receive any bounty upon their 
enlistment. Second. That the President of the United States may, 
whenever in his judgment the public service requires, authorize and 
direct the transfer of persons who have been employed in sea service, 
and are now enlisted in regiments for land service, from such regiments 
to the naval service, upon such terms and according to such rules and 
regulations as he may prescribe: Provided,, nevertheless^ That the 
number of transfers from any company or regiment shall not l)e so 
great as to reduce such company or regiment below the minimum 
strength required by the regulations of the military service: And 'pro- 
vided further^ That such sum as may have been paid to persons so 
transferred, as bounty for entering into the military service, shall be 
transferred from the recruiting fund of th(^ naval service to the credit 
of the proper appropriation for the land service. 



Act of April ^i, 186 J^ {13 Stats., 51^) . 

AN ACT to amend an act for enrolling and calling out the national forces so as to 
increase tiie rank, ]iay, and emoluments of tlie provost-marshal-general. 

That the rank, pay. and emoluments of the provost-marshal-general, 
authorized by section five of said act, shall be those of a l)rigadier- 
general. 



Act ofJnly k, ISGJf {13 Stats., 379). 

AN ACT further to regulate and provide for the enrolling and calling out the national 
forces, and for other purposes. 



Sec. 2. That in case the quota, or any part thereof, of any town, 
township, ward of a city, precinct, or election district, or of any county 
not so subdivided, shall not be filled within the space of tifty days after 
such call, then the President shall immediately order a draft for one 
year to till such quota, or any part thereof which may l)e unfilled; and 
in case of any such draft, no payment of money shall bo accepted or 
received by the (Tovernment as conmmtation to release any enrolled 
or drafted man from personal obligation to perform military service. 

Sec. 3. That it shall be lawful for the executive of any of the States 
to send recruiting agents into any of the States declared to be in rebel- 
lion, except the States of Arkansas, Tennessee, and Louisiana, to recruit 
volimteers imdcrany call under the provisions of this act, who shall be 
credited to the State, and to the respective subdivisions thereof, which 
may procure the enlistment. 

* -X- * 

Sec. 6. That section three of an act entitled "An act to amend an 
act entitled an act for enrolling and calling out the national forces, and 
for other purposes," approved February twenty-four, eighteen hun- 
dred and sixty-four, be, and the same is hereliy, amended, so as to 
authorize and direct district provost marshals, under the direction of 
the provost-marshal -general, to make a draft for one hundred per 



678 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENEEAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

centum in addition to the number required to fill the quota of any 
district as provided by said section. 

Sec. 1. That instead of traveling pay, all drafted persons reporting 
at the place of rendezvous shall be allowed transportation from their 
places of residence; and persons discharged at the place of rendezvous 
shall be allowed transportation to their places of residence. 

Sec. 8. That all persons in the naval service of the United States, 
who have entered said service during the present rebellion, who have 
not been credited to the quota of any town, district, ward, or State, 
by reason of their being in said service and not enrolled prior to 
February twenty-fourth, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, shall be 
enrolled and credited to the quotas of the town, ward, district, or 
State, in which they respectively reside, upon satisfactory proof of 
their residence made to the Secretary of War, 

Sec. 9. That if any person duly drafted shall be absent from home 
in prosecution of his usual business, the provost marshal of the dis- 
trict shall cause him to be duly notified as soon as may be, and he 
shall not be deemed a deserter, nor liable as such, until notice has been 
given to him, and reasonable time allowed for him to return and report 
to the provost marshal of his district; but such absence shall not other- 
wise affect his liability under this act. 

Sec. 10. That nothing contained in this act shall be construed to 
alter or in any way affect the provisions of the seventeenth section of 
an act approved February twenty-fourth, eighteen hundred and sixty- 
four, entitled "An act to amend an act entitled an act for enrolling 
and calling out the national forces, and for other purposes," approved 
March third, eighteen hundred and sixty-three. 

Sec. 11. That nothing contained in this act shall be construed to alter 
or change the provisions of existing laws relative to permitting persons 
liable to military service to furnish substitutes. 

Act of March 3, 1865 {13 Stats., W). 

AN ACT to amend the several acts heretofore passed to provide for the enrolling 
and calling out the national forces, and for other purposes. 



Sec. 13. That where any revised enrollment in any Congressional 
or draft district has been obtained or made prior to any actual drawing 
of names from the enrollment lists, the quota of such district may be 
adjusted and apportioned to such revised enrollment, instead of being 
applied to or based upon the enrollment as it may have stood before 
the revision. 

Sec. 11. That hereafter all persons mustered into the military or 
naval service, whether as volunteers, substitutes, representatives, or 
otherwise, shall be credited to the State and to the ward, township, 
precinct, or other enrollment subdistrict where such persons belong- 
by actual residence (if such persons have an actual residence within 
the United States), and where such persons were or shall be enrolled 
(if liable to enrollment); and it is hereby made the duty of the pro- 
vost-marshal-g(;neral to make such rules and give such instructions 
to the several provost marshals, boards of enrollment, and mustering 
officers as shall be necessary for the faithful enforcement of the pro- 
visions of this section, to the end that fair and just credit shall be given 



provost-maeshal-general's bureau. 679 

to every section of the country : Provided^ That in any call for troops 
hereafter, no county, town, township, ward, precinct, or election dis- 
trict shall have credit except for men actually furnished on said call 
or the preceding call by said county, town, township, ward, precinct, 
or election district, and mustered into the militar}^ or naval service on 
the quota thereof. 

Sec. 15. That in computing- quotas hereafter, credit shall be given 
to the several States, districts, and subdistricts for ail men furnished 
from them, respectively, and not heretofore credited, during the pres- 
ent rebellion, for any period of service of not less than three months, 
calculating the number of days for which such service was furnished, 
and reducing the same to years: Provided^ That such credits shall not 
be applied to the call for additional troops made by the President on 
the twenty-first day of December, eighteen hundred and sixty-four. 

Sec. 16. That persons who have been, or may hereafter be, drafted, 
under the provisions of the several acts to which this is an amendment, 
for the term of one year, and who have actually furnished, or may 
actually furnish, acceptable substitutes (not liable to draft) for the 
term of three years, shall be exempt from military duty during the 
time for which such substitutes shall not be liable to draft, not exceed- 
ing the time for which such substitutes shall have been mustered into 
the service, anything in the act of February twenty-fourth, eighteen 
hundred and sixty-four, to the contrary notwithstanding. 

-X- * vt 

Sec, 19, That in every case where a substitute is furnished to take 
the place of an enrolled or drafted man, and it is shown by evidence 
that shall be satisfactory to the Secretary of War that such substitute 
was, at the time of his enlistment, known by the party furnishing him 
to be non compos mentis, or in a condition of intoxication, or under 
conviction or indictment for any offense of the grade of felony at the 
common law, or to have been guilty of a previous act of desertion 
unsatisfied by pardon or punishment, or, hj reason of any existing 
infii'mitv or ailment, physically incapable of performing the ordinary 
duties of a soldier in actual service in the ranks, or minor between the 
ages of sixteen and eighteen years, without the consent of his parent 
or guardian, or a minor under the age of sixteen years, it shall be the 
duty of the Provost-Marshal-General, on advice of the fact, to report 
the same to the provost-marshal of the proper district; and if such per- 
son so enlisted and incapable shall have been, since the passage of this 
act, mustered into the service as a substitute for a person liable to 
draft and not actually drafted, the name of the person so liable who 
furnished such substitute shall l)e again placed on the list, and he shall 
be subject to draft thereafter as though no such substitute had been 
furnished l)y him; and if such substitute so enlisted and incapable as 
aforesaid shall have been, since the passage of this act, mustered into 
the service as a substitute for a person actually drafted, then it shall 
be the duty of the Provost-Marshal-General to direct the provost- 
marshal of the district immediately to notify the person who furnished 
such substitute that he is held to service in the place of such substitute, 
and he shall stand in the same relation and be subject to the same lia- 
bility as before the furnishing of such substitute. 

Se(\ %). That in case any substitute shall desert from the army, and 
it shall api)car by evidence satisfactory to the Secretary of War that 
the party furnishing" such substitute shall have, in any way, directly 



680 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENEEAL STAFF OF U. S. AEMY. 

or indirectly, aided or abetted such desertion, or to have been privy 
to any intention on the part of such substitute to desert, then such 
person shall l)e immediately placed in the army, and shall serve for the 
period for which he was liable to draft, such service to commence at 
the date of the desertion of the substitute. 

* * -X- 

Sec. [22.] That the third section of the act entitled "An act [further] 
to regulate and provide for the enrolling and calling out the national 
forces, and for other purposes," approved July fourth, eighteen hun- 
dred and sixty -four, Ije, and the same is hereby, repealed. 

Sec. [23.] That any person or persons enrolled in any subdistrict 
may, after notice of a draft, and before the same shall have taken place, 
cause to be mustered into the service of the United States such number 
of recruits, not subject to draft, as they may deem expedient, which 
recruits shall stand to the credit of the persons thus causing them to 
be mustered in, and shall be taken as substitutes for such persons, or 
so man}^ of them as may be drafted, to the extent of the number of 
such recruits, and in the order designated by the principals at the time 
such recruits are thus as aforesaid mustered in. 

* * * 

Sec. [26.] That acting assistant surgeons, contract surgeons, and 
surgeons and commissioners on the enrolling boards, while in the mili- 
tary service of the United States, shall hereafter be exempt from all 
liability to be drafted under the provisions of any act for enrolling and 
calling out the national forces. 

Sec. [27.] That this act shall take effect from and after its passage: 
Provided^ That nothing herein contained shall operate to postpone the 
pending draft, or interfere with the quotas assigned therefor, 

« 

Act of July 28, 1866 {U Stat.^., 332). 

AN ACT to increase and fix the military peace establishment of the United States. 

* * * 

Sec. 33. That the Provost-Marshal-GeneraFs Office and Bureau 
shall be continued only so long as the Secretary of War shall deem 
necessary, not exceeding thirty days after the passage of this act. 

* * * 

July 28, 75W.— By General Orders, No. fi6, A. G. O., August 20, 1866, this Bureau 
was ordered discontinued August 28, the business of the Bureau to be thereafter con- 
ducted through the Adjutant-General of the Army. 

Act of March ;?, 1873 {17 Stats., 566). 

AN ACT to revise, consolidate, and amend the laws relating to pensions. 

That if . . . any provost-marshal, deputy provost-marshal, or 
enrolling officer, disabled by reason of any wound or injury received 
in the discharge of his duty to procure a subsistence by manual la))or, 
has been ... or shall hereafter be impaired by I'eason of such 
disability, he shall, upon making due proof of the fact, ... be 

placed upon the list of invalid pensioners of the United States^ . . . 

* * * 

' This provision is embodied in section 4693 of the Revised Statutes. 



Provisions selected while this work was going through the press, but too 
late for insertion in their appropriate places. 



(;eneral provisions. 

STATUTES AT LARGE. 

Act of March 16, 1802 {2 Stats., 132). 
AN ACT fixing the military establishment of the United States. 



* 



Sec. 5. That the commissioned officers aforesaid shall be entitled 
to receive, for their daily subsistence, the following- number of rations 
of provisions: a colonel, six rations; a lieutenant-colonel, five rations; 
a major, four rations; a captain, three rations; a lieutenant, two 
rations; ... or money in lieu thereof at the option of the said 
oflicers ... at the posts respectively where the rations shall 
become due; . 



Act of July 6, 1812 {2 Stats., 784). 

AN ACT making further provision for the Army of the United States, and for other 

purposes. 

* * * 

Skc. 4. That the President is hereby authorized to confer brevet 
rank on such officers of the Army as shall distinguish themselves by 
gallant actions or meritoi-ious conduct, or who shall have served ten 
years in any one grade. 

* * * 

March S, 1S4'> {5-7S2). — Franking privilege abolished; acconntR for official postage 
to be paid from contingent fund of the bureau to which the officer belongs. By 
.loint Resohition No. 13, of same date (5-800), this act was declared to take effect 
July 1, 1845, and not sooner. 

Act of March 3, 1863 {12 Stats., 731). 

AN ACT for enrolling and calling out the national forces, and for other purposes. 
-K- * * 

Sec. 31. That any officer absent from duty with leave, except for 
sickness or wounds, shall, during his absence, receive half of the pay 
and allowances prescribed by law, and no more. . . . 

681 



682 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 
Act of June 20, 186 J^. {13 Stats., lU)- 

AN ACT to increase the pay of soldiers in the United States Army, and for rither 

purposes. 



Sec. 11. That the thirty-first section of an act entitled "An act for 
enrolling- and calling- out the national forces, and for other purposes,"" 
approved March third, one thousand eight hundred and sixty -three, be, 
and the same is hereby, so amended as that an officer may have, . 
leave of absence for other cause than sickness or wounds without deduc- 
tion from his pay or allowances: Provided, That the aggregate of such 
absence shall not exceed thirty daj^s in any one year. 



Act of July '28, 1866 {IJ^ Stats., 332). 
AN ACT to increase and fix the niihtary peace establishment of the United States. 



Sec. 31. That all ofiicers who have served during the reljellion as 
volunteers in the armies of the United States, and who have been or 
may hereafter be honorably mustered out of the volunteer service, 
shall be entitled to bear the official title, and upon occasions of cere- 
mony to wear the uniform of the highest grade they have held by brevet 
or other commissions in the volunteer service. In case of officers of 
the Regular Army the volunteer rank shall be entered upon the official 
army register: Provided, That these privileges shall not entitle any 
officer to command, pay, or emoluments. 



March 2, 1867 (i-^-^.i-;^).— The act of June 20, 1864 (13-144), increasing the pay of 
enlisted men, not to be construed as to increase the emoluments of the commissioned 
officers at the date of its i:)assage. The first section of the act of March 8, 1865 ( 13-487 ), 
relative to officers' servants, not intended to be retrospective or retroactive in its 
operation. 

Act of July 11, 1868 {15 Stats., 8S.) 

AN ACT prescribing an oath of office to be taken by persons from whom legal disa- 
bilities shall have been removed. 

That whenever any person who has participated in the late rebellion 
. . has been or shall be . . . appointed to any office or place 
of trust in or under the Government of the United States, he shall, 
before entering upon the duties thereof, instead of the oath prescribed 
by the act of July two, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, take and sub- 
scribe the following oath or affirmation: 

I, A B, do solenndy swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend 
the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and 
domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that 
1 take this o])ligation freely, without any mental reservation or pur- 
pose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties 
of the office on which 1 am about to enter. So help me God. 



ADDENDA. 683 

Act of May 8, 187 Jf, {18 Stats., 1^3). 

AN ACT to amend the thirty-first section of an act entitled ' 'An act for enrolling 
and calling out the national militia, and for other purposes," approved March 
third, eighteen hundred and sixty-three. 

That all officers on duty at any point west of a line drawn north and 
south through Omaha city, and north of a line drawn east and west 
upon the southern boundary of Arizona, shall be allowed sixty days' 
leave of absence without deduction of pay or allowances: Provided, 
That the same is taken but once in two years: And provided further. 
That the leave of absence may be extended to three months, if taken 
once only in three years; or four months if taken once only in four 
years. 

Act <f July 29, 1876 {19 Stats., 102). 

AN ACT to amend an act approved May eight, eighteen hundred and seventy-four, 
ill regard to leave of absence of Army officers. 

Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of America in Congress assemhled, That an act approved May 
eight, eighteen hundred and seventy-four, in regard tc leave of absence 
of Army officers, be, and the same is hereb}-, so amended that all officers 
on duty shall be allowed, in the discretion of the Secretary of War, 
sixty days' leave of absence without deduction of pay or allowance: 
Provided, That the same bo taken once in two years: A)td provided 
further^ That the leave of absence may be extended to three months, 
if taken once only in three years, or four months if taken once only in 
four years. 

This act shall take effect from and after its passage. 

REVISED STATUTES, 2D EDITION, 1878. 



Sec. 1205. Line officers maj' lie traiisferred to the staff without prejudice to their 
rank or promotion in the line; when they become entitled to a regimental grade 
equal to that they hold in the staff, they must vacate either commission. 

* * -X- 

Sec. 1209. The President may confer brevet commissions for distinguished conduct 
and public service in presenile of the enemy. 

-X- -x- * 

Sec. liilS. No person who has served in any capacity in the military, 
naval, or civil service of the so-called Confederate States, or of either 
of the States in insurrection during the late rebellion, shall be appointed 
to any position in the Army of the United States. 

* -X- -X- 

Sec. 1^26. All officers who have served during the rel)ellion as vol- 
luiteers in the Army of the United States, and have been honorably 
mustered out of the volunteer service, shall be entitled to bear the 
official title, and upon occasions of ceremony to wear the uniform of 
the highest grade they have held, by brevet or other commissions, in 
the volunteer service. The highest volimteer rank which has been 
held by officers of the Regular Army shall bt' entered, with their names 
respectively, upon the Arm}' Register. . . . 

« « i!r 



684 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

Sec. 1756. Eveiy person . . . appointed to any office of honor 
or profit ... in the . . . military . . . service . . . 
shall, before entering- upon the duties of such office, and before being 
entitled to any part of the salary or other emoluments thereof, take 
and subscribe the following oath: "I, A B, do solemnly swear (or 
affirm) that I have never voluntarily borne arms against the United 
States since 1 have been a citizen thereof; that I have voluntarily 
given no aid, countenance, counsel, or encouragement to persons 
engaged in armed hostility thereto; that I have neither sought, nor 
accepted, nor attempted to exercise the functions of any office what- 
ever, under any authority or pretended authority, in hostility to the 
United States; that 1 have not yielded a voluntary support to any pre- 
tended government, authority, power, or constitution within the United 
States hostile or inimical thereto, and I further swear (or affirm) that, 
to the best of my knowledge and ability, 1 will support and defend the 
Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and 
domestic; that I will l^ear true faith and allegiance to the same; that 
I take this ol>ligation freely, without any mental reservation or pur- 
pose of evasion, and that 1 will well and faithfully discharge the duties 
of the office on which I am about to enter, so help me God." 

Sec. 1757. Whenever an}" person who ... is not al)le, on 
account of his participation in the late rel)ellion, to take the oath pre- 
scribed in the preceding section, he shall, before entering upon the 
duties of his office, take and subscril)ein lieu of that oath the following 
oath: "'I, A B, do solenmly swear (or affirm) that I will support and 
defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, for- 
eign and domestic; that 1 will bear true faith and allegiance to the 
same; that I take this o1)ligation freely, without any mental reservation 
or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the 
duties of the office on which 1 am about to enter, so help me God." 
* * * 

Sec. 1860. 

•X- vt- -X- 

Fourth. No person belonging to the Arm 3^ . . . shall lioclected 
to or hold any civil office or appointment in any Territor}-. 

* * -X- 

Sec. 3683. No part oi the contingent fund appropriated to any Imreau to be 
applied to the purchase of any articles except such as the liead of tlie Department 
shall, in writing, direct to he i)rocured. 



STATUTES AT LARGE. 

Act of Juih' ^:i, 1H79 (:21 Stats., 30). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty, and for other purposes. 

* * * 

. Provided., That no allowance shall l)e made for claims for 
(|uarters for servants heretofore or hereafter; and that the rate of 
commutation shall hereafter be twelve dollars per room per month 
for officers' quarters, in lieu of ten dollars, as now provided l)y law. 

* * * 

. . . Provided., That to the cost of all stores and other articles 
sold to officers and men, except tobacco, as provided for in section one 



ADDENDA. 685 

thousand one hundred and forty-nine of the Revised Statutes, ten per 
centum shall be added to cover wastage, transportation, and other 
incidental charoes. 



Act of March 3, 1883 {22 Stats., 456). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year end- 
ing June thirtietli, eighteen hundred and eighty-four, and for other purposes. 
•X- * * 

. . . From and after the passage of this act, mileage to offi- 
cers of the Army shall be computed over the shortest usually traveled 
routes between the points named in the order, and the necessity for 
such travel in the military service shall be certified to by the officer 
issinng the order, and stated in said order. 

Act of March J, 1883 (22 Stats., 567). 

AN ACT to amend section eighteen liundred and sixty of the Revised Statutes so as 
not to exchide retired Army officers from holding civil office in the Territories. 

That the fourth clause of section eighteen hundred and sixty of the 
Revised Statutes of the United States be, and the same is hereby, 
amended so as to read as follows: 

"Fourth. No person belonging to the Army . . . shall be 
elected to or hold any civil office or appointment in any Territory, 
except officers of the Army on the retired list." 

Act of May 13, 188 4 {23 Stats., 21). 

AN ACT amending the Revised Statutes of the United States in respect of official 
oaths, and for other purposes. 

That section twelve hundred and eighteen of the Revised Statutes of 
the United States be, and is hereby, amended to read as follows: 

"Sec. 1218. No person who held a commission in the Army or Navy 
of the United States at the beginning of the late rebellion, and after- 
wards served in any capacity in the militar^^, naval, or civil service of 
the so-called Confederate States, or of either of the States in insurrec- 
tion during the late rebellion, shall be appointed to any position in the 
Army ... of the United States." 

Sec. 2. That section seventeen hundred and fifty -six of the Revised 
Statutes be, and the same is hereby, repealed; and hereafter the oath 
to be taken by any person . . . appointed to any office of honor 
or profit ... in the . . . military . . . service, except 
the President of the United States, shall be as prescribed in section 
seventeen hundred and fifty-seven of the Revised Statutes. 
* * * 

Act (f Fehruary 4, 1897 {29 Stats., 511). 

AN ACT to authorize officers who served during the war of the rebellion in the 
Regular Army to bear the title and, on occasions of ceremony, wear the uniform 
of their highest rank. 

That all officers mIio have served during the rebellion as officers of 
the Regular Army of the United States, and have been honorably dis- 
charged or resigned from the service, shall be entitled to bear the offi- 
cial title and, upon occasions of ceremony, to wear the uniform of the 



686 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U S. ARMY. 

highest grade they have held, by brevet or other commission, as is now 
authorized for officers of volunteers by section twelve hundred and 
twenty-six, Revised Statutes, 

Tlie text on page 45 of the History of the General Staff, under the title 

Act of May <28, 1898 {30 Stats., l^M), 

is that of the 

Act of June £9, 1898 {30 Stats., 6'25). 

AN ACT to amend section ten of an act approved April twenty -second, eighteen 
hundred and ninetj'-eight, entitled "'An act to provide for temporarily increasing 
the military establishment of the United States in time of war, and for other 
purposes. ' ' 

Tliefrftt section of the act of May 28, is as follows: 

That section ten of an act of Congress, entitled ""An act to provide 
for temporarily increasing the military estaljlishment of the United 
States in time of war, and for other purposes," approved April 
twenty-second, eighteen hundred and ninet3'-eight, be, and the same 
is hereby, amended by adding at the end thereof the following, to wit: 
Aiid provided, That officers of the Regular Army shall be eligible for 
such staff appointments, and shall not be held to vacate their offices in 
the Regular Army by accepting the same, but shall be entitled to 
receive only the pa}^ and allowances of their staff rank: . 

-X- * * 



THE (QUARTERMASTER'S DEPARTMENT. 
STATUTES AT LARGE. 

June 2, 1862 [12-411). — Secretary of War to furnish officers appointed l»y him to 
make contracts with a printed letter of instructions and blank forms of contracts, 
affidavits of returns, etc., to secure uniformity in such instruments. 

March 2, 1867 (14-571). — Forbids iiayment of accounts, claims, ~etc. , against the 
Government which accrued prior to April 13, 1860, in favor of disloyal j^ersons; this 
not to apply to claims assigned to loyal creditors of such persons in payment of debts 
incurred prior to March 1, 1861. 

REVISED STATUTES, 2D EDITION, 1878. 

vv * -X- 

Sec. 1304. In case of deficiency of any articles of military supplies or of damage to 
such supplies, the value of the deficient articles or that of the damage to be charged 
against the officer responsible, unless he can show that the deficiency or damage was 
not occasioned by any faidt on his part. 

•X- -x- * 

Sec. 3480. Forbids payment of accounts, claims, etc., against the United States 
which accrued or existed prior to April 13, 1860, in favor of disloyal persons; this 
not to apply to claims assigned to loyal creditors of such persons in payment of debts 
incurred prior to March ], 1861. 

-X- * * 

Sec. 3747. Secretary of War to furnish officers aj)pointed by him to make contracts, 
with a printed letter of instructions and blank forms of contracts, affidavits of returns 
etc., to secure uniformity in such instruments. 

-X- * * 

STATUTES AT LARGE. 

May 25, 1900 {31 ). — Authorizes replacement of quartermaster supplies which 

the volunteers from a State or Territory carried into the service of the United States 
Army during the recent war with Spain, and which have been retained by the 
United States. 



ADDENDA. 687 

THE SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT. 

JOURNALS OF THE AMERICAN (CONTINENTAL) CONGRESS. 

Seiitember 27, 1775. 

Resoln'd, That the expense of kettles, canteens, and spoons, supplied to the soldiers, 
be chargrcl to the continent. 

STATUTES AT LARGE. 

}fay 18, 1826 {4-173). — In case of deficiency of any article of military supplies or 
of damage to such supplies, the value of the deficient articles or that of the damage 
to be charged against the responsible officer, unless he can show that the deficiency 
or damage was not occasioned by any fault on his part. 

June 2, 1862 [12-411). — Secretary of War to furnish officers apjjointed by him to 
make contracts with a printed letter of instructions and blank forms of contracts, 
affidavits of returns, etc., to secure uniformity in such instruments. 

March 3, 1865 (i,S-^.9.5).— Commissaries may sell rations on credit to officers in the 
field, reporting monthly to the Paymaster-General the amounts due for such pur- 
chases. 

March 2, 1867 {14-571). — Forbids payment of accounts, claims, etc., against the 
Government which accrued prior to April 13, 1860, in favor of disloyal persons; this 
not to apply to claims assigned to loyal creditors of such persons in payment of debts 
incurred prior to March 1, 1861. 

REVISED STATUTES, 2D EDITION, 1878. 

* * * 

Sec. 1145. Commissaries may sell rations on credit to officers in the field, report- 
ing monthly to the Paymaster-General the amounts due for such purchases. 

* * * 

Sec. 1277. One ration in kind or by commutation allowed to hospital matrons and 
female nurses. 

* * * 

Sec. 1304. In case of deficiency of any article of military supplies or of damage to 
such supplies, the value of the deficient articles or that of the damage to be charged 
against the officer responsible, unless he can show that the deficiency or damage was 
not occasioned by any fault on his part. 

* * * 

Sec. 2110. Governs issue of rations to Indians who may visit the military posts or 
agencies of the United States on the frontiers or in their respective nations. 

* * * 

Sec. 3480. Forbids payment of accounts, claims, etc., against the United States 
which accrued or existed prior to April 13, 1860, in favor of disloyal persons; this 
not to apply to claims assigned to loyal creditors of such persons in payment of debts 
incurred prior to March 1, 1861. 

* * * 

Sec. 3747. Secretary of War to furnish officers appointed by him to make contracts 
with a printed letter of instructions and blank forms of contracts, affidavits of returns, 
etc. , to secure uniformity in such instruments. 

* * * 

STATUTES AT LARGE. 

March 3, 1881 {21-435). — All the old clothing now held for issue to the National 
Home to be turned over to the managers of the National Home for Disabled Volun- 
teer Soldiers. 

April 23, 1901.— ... 

Executive Mansion, 
Washington, March 26, 1901. 

In accordance with the provisions of section 40 "of the act entitled "An act to 
increase the efficiency of the permanent military establishment of the United 
States," approved Fei)ruary 2, 1901, which authorizes the President to "prescribe 
the kind and (juantities of the component articles of the army ration, and to direct 
the issue of substitutive equivalent articles in place of any such components when- 
ever, in his opinion, economy and a due regard to the health and comfort of the 
troop.s may so require," the following is promulgated for the information and guid- 
ance of all concerned. 

The kinds and quantities of articles composing the army ration and the substi- 



688 LEGISLATIVE HISTOEY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 



tutive equivalent articles which may be issued in place of such components shall be 
as follows: 

1. For troops in garrison {garrison ration). 



Standard articles. 



Kinds. 



Quantities. 



Substitutive articles. 



Kinds. 



Quantities. 



Meat components 



Bread components 



Vegetable components" 



Dried (or evaporated) 
fruit components.*' 

Coffee and sugar com- 
ponents. 

Seasoning components . 



Soap and candle com- 
ponents. 



Fresh beef 

Flour 

Beans 

Potatoes 

Prunes 

fCoffee, green . . . 

ISugar 

(Vinegar 

SSalt 

IPepper, black... 

f Soap 

tCandleso 



20 ounces. 



18 ounces. 
2f ounces. 



1| ounces. 
3i ounces. 

5^5 gill 

^1 ounce. 
Jb ounce. 
If ounce. 
Jg ounce. 



Fre.sh mutton ' 

Bacon 

Canned meat^ 

Dried fish 

Pickled fish 

Canned fish 

Soft bread 

Hard bread* 

Corn meal 

Pease 

Rice 

Hominy 

f Potatoes 

\Onions 

jPotatoes 

\Canned tomatoes 

(Potatoes 

■{Fresh vegetables, not 
[ canned.6 

Desiccated vegetables ' 

(Apples 

\Peaches 

JRoasted and ground 

\Tea, black or green 

/Vinegar 

\Cucumber pickles 



20 ounces. 
12 ounces. 2 
16 ounces. 
14 ounces. 
18 ounces. 
16 ounces. 
18 ounces. 
16 ounces. 
20 ounces. 
2| ounces. 
Ig ounces, 
f ounces. 
12| ounces. 
3^ ounces. 
12^ ounces. 
'i\ ounces. 
11 J ounces. 
4| ounces. 

2§ ounces. 
Ig ounces. 
Ig ounces. 
1/e ounces, 
/s ounce. 



5*5 gill- 
ie gill- 



1 When the cost. does not exceed that of fresh beef. 

2fn Alaska ICi ounces of tjacoii. <ir. when desired, 16 ounces of salt pork or 22 ounces salt beef, 
swhen imiiracticablc lofuruisli fri'sh meat. 

■•To be orcU'red issued only w iicn iniiiracticable to use flour or soft bread. 
Sfn Alaska the allowanccnf fr(sli vc.t^ctatilcs will be 24 ounces instead of 10 ounces. 
"When 1 1 ley can bt' obtained in the vicinity or traiisimrtcd in a wholesome condition from a distance. 
"When impraclicaljle t() furnisli/VcsA \cKetal)les. In .Alaska og ounces instead of 2| ounces. 
'^Tliirty per cent of the i.ssue to be prunes when practicable. 

'■'Wiicii illinnination is not furnished by the Quartermaster's Department. In Alaska ^^ ounce 
instead of {\ ounce. 

2. For troops in the field in active campaign {field ration) . 



Meat components . 
Bread components 



Standard articles. 



Kinds. 



Vegetable components . 



Fruit component 

Coffee and sugar com- 



ponents. 



Seasoning components . 

Soap and candle com- 
ponents. 



Fresh beef 

Flour 

Baking powder* 

I Beans 
Potatoes' 

,Iam 

(Coffee, roasted 
< and ground. 
(Sugar 

j Vinegar 

jsalt 

IPepper, black... 

(Soap 

1 Candles 



Quantities. 



20 ounces 

18 ounces 

^ ounce. 

2S ounces 



Ig ounces. 
Ij'j ounces. 

3J ounces. 

s'Bgill 

\% ounce . 
5V ounce. 
\% ounce, 
s^s ounce. 



Substitutive articles. 



Kinds. 



[Fresh mutton'-' 

•(Canned meat^ 

[Bacon 

/Soft bread 

\Hard bread 

(Hops'' 

\Dried or compressed yeast".. 

Rice 

fPotatoess 

(Onions'-' 

Desiccated pi itati )es 

(Desiccated potatoes 

\Desiccated onions 

(Desiccated potatoes 

(Can ned tomatoes 

Tea, black or green 

(Vinegar 

(Cucumber pickles 



Quantities. 



20 ounces. 
16 ounces. 
12 ounces. 
18 ounces. 
16 ounces. 
6*5 ounce. 
jV ounce. 
Ig ounces. 
12J ounces. 
3J ounces. 
2| ounces. 
1 If ounces. 
j| ounce. 
IJg ounces. 
3^ ounces. 

j's ounce. 



: gill. 
; gill. 



1 2 3 7 89 wiien procurable locally. ' When fresh meat can not be procured locally. 

4 6 6 When ovens are not available. 



ADDENDA. 



689 



3. For troops ivhcn traveling otherurm' than by niarching, or when for short periods tJici/ are 
separated from cooking facilities {travel ration). 



Standard articles. . 


Substitute articles. 


Kinds. 


Quantities 
per 100 
rations. 


Kind.s. 


Quantities 
per 100 
rations. 


Soft bread 


112^ pounds. 
75 pounds. 
25 pounds. 
50 pounds 
8 pounds. 
15 pounds. 




100 pounds. 
75 pounds. 


Canned corned beef 




Baked beans 












Sugar .- 





4. For troops traveling .on vessels tjf the United States Armij transport service. 

Food on transports for troops traveling will be prepared front the articles of sub- 
sistence stores which compose the ration for troops in garrison, varied by the substi- 
tution of other articles of authorized subsistence stores of equal money value when 
required. No savings will be allowed to troops on transports. 

5. For use of troops on emergent occasions in active campaign {emergency ration). 

An emergency ration, prepared under direction of the War Department, will be 
issued to troops on active campaign, but will not be used at any time or place where 
regular rations are obtainable. It will be packed in a conveniently shaped package, 
and will be carried in the haversack or saddlebags and accounted for at inspection, 
etc., by the soldier. 

6'. Proportions of meat issues. 

Fresh meats will ordinarily be issued seven days in ten and salt meats three days 
in ten. If fish (dried, pickled, or canned) is issued, it will be in substitution of salt 
meat. The proportions of the meat issues may be varied at the discretion of depart- 
ment commanders, not, however, without due consideration being given to the equita- 
ble rights of contractors engaged in furnishing fresh meats to the troops under their 
commands. 

7. Substitute when the issue of both fresh meat and vegetables is impracticable. 

Whenever the issue of both the fresh meat and vegetable components is impracti- 
cable, there may be issued in lieu of them canned fresh-beef-and- vegetable stew, at 
the rate of 28J ounces to the ration. 

William McKinley. 

{General Orders, Xo. 56, A. G. 0.) 



THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 



STATUTES AT LARGE. 



.Uarch 16, 1S02 {2-132). — This act allows one ration each to such matrons and 
nurses as may be necessarily employed in hospitals. 

April 24, 1S16 {3-297). — Under this act garrison surgeons and mates were to be 
considered thereafter as post surgeons. 

May IS, 1S26 {4-173). — In case of deficiency of any article of military supplies or 
of damage to such supplies, the value of the deficient articles or that of damage to 
be charged against the responsible officer, unless he can show that the deficiency or 
damage was not occasioned by any fault on his part. 

S. Doc. 229 U 



690 LEGISLATIVE HISTOKY OF GENERAL STAFF OF U. S. ARMY. 

THE ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT. 

JOURNALS OF THE AMERICAN (CONTINENTAL) CONGRESS. 

October 16, 1776. 

Resolved, That it he earnestly recommended to all persons who are possessed of 
the salt petre lately removed from Turtle Bay, on the island of New York, forth- 
with to send the same to the president of the convention of New York, to be man- 
ufactured into gunpowder, for the use of the Continental Army. 

October 17, 1775. 

Ordered, that the President write to the convention of New York and inform them 
that it is the desire of the Congress that the sulphur in that city be immediately 
removed to a place of safety. 

October 25, 1775. ' 

Information being given to Congress that there has been lately discovered, in the 
colony of Virginia, a mineral containing a large quantity of saltpetre, 

Ordered, That the delegates of Virginia send an express to enquire into the truth 
of the fact, and to bring a sample of the mineral. 

* * * 

Resolved, That it he recommended to the several provincial assemblies, conven- 
tions, or councils of safety, of the United Colonies, to export to the foreign West 
Indies, on account and risk of their respective colonies, as much provisions or other 
produce, except horned cattle, sheep, hogs, and poultry, as they may deem neces- 
sary for the importation of arms, ammunition, sulphur, and saltpetre. 

THE SKiNAL CORPS. 

Act of June 30, 1882 {2§ Stats., 117). 

AN ACT making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year 
ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty -three, and for other 
purposes. 

* * * 

, . . Provided, That the allowance for commutation of quarters 
... for officers and enlisted men of the Signal Service serving in 
the Arctic regions, [shall be] the same in amount as though thej were 
serving in Washington, District of Columbia: . . . 



IISTDEX. 



A. 

Abaxdoxeu l.vnds, Page. 

use of, for refugees and freedmen 656 

Abert, John, 

mentioned 484 

Abstracts, 

of subsistence, when to be sent 325 

Abuses, 

committee to inquire into, in the Medical Department 368 

respecting correction of, in Department of Military Stores 564 

Academy (see Military Academy). 
Accounts, 

manner of keejiing, how regulated 20 

of subsistence, by whom signed 22, 325 

weekly, to be sent to Congress 144, 246 

of funds received and expended, how made. . . 158, 200, 336, 408, 449, 462, 551, 578 

of quotas of provisions from States, how settled 166 

respecting, of officers of the Quartermaster's Department 175, 188 

of contractors 191, 309 

form of, regulated 199, 336 

in supply departments to be made quarterly 200, 336 

of purchases and issues, how settled 257 

for provisions and fuel, how made 290 

respecting settlement of hospital 377, 379, 391, 396 

of officers of the Hospital and Medical Departments 394, 397, 408 

yearly, of apothecary to be settled within six months 399 

Sviperintendent-general of military supplies to prescribe form of 407, 578 

manner of keeping regimental pavmasters', regulated bv the Secretarv of 

War ; 455 

Paymaster-General to settle and adjust all 456 

(.?fc Paymasters; Commissary of army accounts.) 

of ordnance and ordnance stores 553, 578 

respecting, of prisoners of war 643, 644 

for official ]wstage 681 

payment of, in favor of disloyal persons forbidden 54, 686, 687 

Accouterments (see Le.\ther; Deerskins), 

may l)e issued to detachments of seamen or marines 202 

(see Sappers and miners.) 

to be stamped ' ' United States " 546 

neglect to deliver continental, punishable 546 

States to appoint persons to manufacture 553, 554 

sujierintendent of military, appointed 554 

how obtained 568 

returns of, to be made 569 

Acts of Congress, 

provisions of, amended 28, 36, 37, 131, 424, 434, 473, 682, 683, 686 

extended 36, 72, 73, 74, 203, 216, 218, 219, 340, 463 

construed 342, 413, 473, 474, 504, 586, 682 

suspended 428 

repealed in part 74, 

78, 194, 203, 206, 209, 232, 331, 343, 344, 356, 403, 413, 414. 415, 
466, 473, 502, 507, 511, 512, 519, 575, 583, 588, 589, 590, 595, 625 

repealed 75, 102, 111, 129, 197, 199, 201, 208, 209, 

335, 344, 350, 410, 415, 468, 469, 474, 498, 508, 578, 581, 583, 590 

691 



692 INDEX. 

Adams, , Page. 

to superintend the hospitals in Pennsylvania and Jersey 381 

Adams, John, 

member of committee 87, 239, 364, 536 

mentioned 121 , 393 

Adams, Samuel, 

member of committee 87, 488, 535 

Adams, Samuel, 

appointed hospital physician and surgeon 389 

Adjutant and inspector (see Rank; Pay; Rations), 

authorized 69, 107 

Adjutant and Inspector General {see Rank; Pay; Rations), 

authorized 72, 109 

to principal army to act as chief of staff 72, 109 

letters to and from the, free of postage 72, 109 

provisionally retained 72, 110 

Adjutant-General {see Uniform; Rank; Pay; Rations; Forage; Baggage 
wagons), 

authorized 53, 57, 68, 69, 70, 72, 73, 75, 76, 79, 80, 81 

appointed 53,55,58,59,64 

appointment of, announced to the Armv 53, 55 

details of '. ". 56, 57, 61, 62 

arms in store deliverable on order of the 54, 143, 540 

to make monthly returns to Congress 56, 57 

certain regimental returns to the, discontinued 58 

when appointed from the line 60 

to be assistant inspector-general ■ 62, 69 

{see Allowances.) 

inspectors to act as 60, 63, 90, 96 

to receive journals of Congress 63 

how appointed 64, 77, 78 

{see Half-pay.) 

letters and packages to and from the, free of postage 71, 72 

provisionally retained 72 

franking privilege granted to the 73 

to be a commissioner of the Soldiers' Home 75, 78, 79 

to notify State authorities of details for ambulance duty 76 

charged with certain duties relative to colored soldiers 78 

mentioned 68, 73, 74 

deputv, authorized 53, 55, 57, 58, 59, 62, 71 

appointed 54, 55, 56, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 64 

to make monthly reports and returns 55 

how appointed 64 

to appoint an assistant 65 

assistant, appointed 56, 61, 64 

authorized 70, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81 

how appointed 64, 69 

to act as assistant inspector-general 78 

mentioned 69 

{see Vacancies.) 
Adjutant-General's Department, 

how constituted 64, 65, 72, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81 

increased 73, 74, 76, 77, 80 

reduced 74, 79 

reduction of, repealed 74 

no new appointments or promotions in the 77 

(see Vacancies; Army Corps; Divisions; Brigades.) 
Adjutant-General's Office, 

respecting purchase of books, etc. , for the 80 

Advertisement, 

for proposals for quartermaster supplies 214, 21 7, 225 

ordnance and ordnance stores may be purchased without 604 

Affidavits, 

to insure uniformitv Secretarv of War to furnish blank forms of 419, 

432,509,517,590,599,686,687 
Agents (.see Military agents; Clothier-general), 

to be sent into each State to purchase goods 147, 151 

purchasing, to obtain list of prices allowed 152, 375 



INDEX. 693 

Agents — Continued. Page. 

authorized for the Quartermaster's Department 155 

purchase of forage 155 

in each colony to superintend the making of saltpeter 537, 538 

State to superintend manufacture of flints 541 

superintendent of finance may suspend or remove 181 

appoint, for purchase of supplies. 183, 296, 394, 564 

to take the oath of fidelity 261 

States to appoint, for sale of clothing to the troops 275 

to impress clothing 275 

stock and provisions 276 

for the purchase of flour 278 

meat 280 

to be sent into each State to purchase medicines 370 

in Bureau of Refugees, Freechnen, and Abandoned Lands 657, 659 

Agriculture, 

observations and signals for the benefit of 614, 616 

AlDS-DE-CAMP, 

to be taken from the line; to perform duties of assistant adjutant-general. . 73 
authorized for the Inspector-General 87, 96, 105, 106 

Alaska {f<ee Leave of absence) , 

pay of officers serving in, increased 10 per cent 47 

Albany, N. Y., 

hospital in, mentioned 381, 382 

deputy paymaster-general at, appointed 453 

Alden, Roger, 

appointed brigade-major 58 

mentioned 60 

Alexander, , 

appointed brigade-major 61 

Alexander, William (st^e Stirling, Lord). 

Allen, Andrew, 

member of committee 538 

mentioned 243 

Allowances {see Mileage; Traveling allowances; Commutation), 

to ofticers regulated 20, 184 

of the line detailed in the Inspector-General's Department 143 

Quartermaster-General reduced 184 

contractors for military supplies 191 

purchasing commissaries 281, 282, 283 

♦leputy paymasters 456 

surveyor of ordnance 558, 562 

Alsop, John, 

member of committee 240, 241, 537 

mentioned 142 

Alvokd, Ben.tamin, 

mentioned 443 

Ambulances, 

under control of medical director of army corps 420 

allowance of 421 

to be used only for the sick and wounded 422 

Ambulance corps [see Details), 

how organized 420 

uniformed 422 

Ammunition [see Laboratory), 

willful damage to, how punished 177, 308, 383, 561 

committee to obtain 535, 537, 539 

captured, how disposed of 541 

care of, turned over to board of war 543 

Pennsylvania and the States south to lay up 544 

in aid near Philadelphia put under General Putnam's control 545 

magazi'ies of, to be established 545, 580 

issue of, to the Southern Army 563 

how obtained 568, 690 

returns of, to be made to Congress 569 

purcluise of 572, 574 

resjH'cting tests of improvements in 593 



694 INDEX. 

Ammunition — Continued. Page. 

purchased abroad admitted free of duty 604 

may be issued to emigrants to certain Territories 586 

purchased without advertisement 604 

Ammunition wagons, 

provided for each regiment — 559 

Anderson, Archibald, 

appointed brigade-major 61 

inspector 91 

Anderson, John, 

mentioned 484, 484 

Andover Iron Works, 

mentioned 550 

Andrews, Timothy P., 

mentioned 443 

Annapolis, Md., 

respecting removal of stores at 546 

port and harbor of, to be fortified 573 

Antiscorbutics, 

for hospitals in Northern Department 368 

Appalachicola, Fla., 

mentioned 501 

Apothecaries (see Pay; Half pay; Rations; Forage; Land), 

authorized 363,365,384,392,408,409 

duties of 363,387,390,391,398,399 

appointment of 365, 389, 395 

how appointed 388 

removal of medical stores by the 369 

{see Vacancies.) 

Apothecaries' mates {see Pay; Rations; Clothing), 

authorized 370 

Apothecary-General {see Pay; Rations; Clothing), 

authorized 370,404,408 

duties of 370 

deputy, authorized 404 

and his deputy, how appointed 404 

letters to and from the, free of postage 408 

assistant, authorized 409 

and assistants to give bonds 410 

mentioned 501 

Appointments {see the several staff corps and military departments), 

Commander in Chief to make, under rank of brigadier-general 12 

submit list of his 12 

{see Staff officers.) 

further, in the staff prohibited 42, 473, 494, 511, 593 

respecting, for corps, division, and brigade staffs 45 

relative to, of supernumerary junior lieutenants in the staff depart- 

menta 185, 325, 455, 494, 566 

respecting certain, in authorized engineer regiments 527 

officers of Regular Army not held as vacating their office by, in the vol- 
unteer staff 686 

Appropriations, 

under "Pay Dei^artment," except mileage, to constitute one fund 477 

for the Subsistence Department to constitute one fund 357 

no part of the, for the Ordnance Department to be used to pay freight 

charges 607 

for fortifications available until expended 602 

Aransas Pass, Tex., 

respecting improvements at 526 

Archer, Samuel B., 

mentioned 86 

Arctic regions, 

respecting commutation of quarters to officers and men in the 690 

Arizona, 

traveling expenses of California and Nevada volunteers discharged in 472 

Arkansas, 

arsenal in 584 

no recruiting agents to be sent to 677 



INDEX. 695 

Arkansas Eiver, "age. 

respecting improvement of the 528 

Arlinx;ton, Va., 

memorial bridge from Washington City to 526 

Armament, 

of certain fortifications 572 

of port and harbor of Annapoli'" 573 

Arm AND, Charles T., 

mentioned 103, 304 

Arm chests, 

to be provided for each regiment 559 

Armisteap, Walker K., 

mentioned 483 

Armorers (-see Pay; Master armorers), 

appointment of 544, 545, 572, 579, 586 

duties of 551 

dismissed 554 

to be designated as ' ' corporals " 590 

Armorer's department, 

inquiry to be made into conduct of the ^ 554 

Armories [see National armories; Springfield Armory; Harpers Ferry- 
Armory), 

respecting site for, on the Western waters 500, 582 

establishment of 574 

artificerg, etc. , in, exempted from jury duty 576 

placed under direction of the Ordnance Department 580 

civilian superintendents of, may be appointed 587, 588 

pay of civil superintendents of 588 

master armorers 588 

superintendents of, to be ordnance officers 590 

pay of officers employed in the 575 

Arms (see Rifles; Patent arms; Mtskets; Carbines; Contractors), 

in store deliverable on order of the Adjutant-General 54, 143, 540 

willful damage to, how punished ] 77, 308, 383, 561, 580 

for corps of sappers and miners 492 

importation of 537, 538, 543, 690 

captured, how disposed of 537, 541 

of men leaving the service to be retained 537, 544 

sick officers and men to be purchased 537 

respecting purchase of 538, 539, 540, 572, 574 

manufacture of 539, 543, 555, 563 

care and custody of, lodged with Board of War 543 

imported, how distributed or cared for 543, 546, 565 

to be provided for cavalry 544 

States requested to collect all, not in actual service 545 

to be marked "United States" 546 

respecting punishment for refusal to deliver 546 

construction of magazines for 547 

measures to supply the Army with 548 

arrival of imported 550 

State of Virginia requested to loan 558 

returns of, to be made 556, 557, 569 

issues of, how made 559 

removal of 545, 564- 

how obtained 568, 573 

rejiort on condition of 570 

exportation of, prohibited 573. 

importation of, to be free of duty 573> 

to be provided for the militia 574 

deposited in certain arsenals on the western waters 576- 

depots of, to be established .* 580 

issue of, to emigrants to certain Territories 586 

national asylums 592 

respecting contracts U >r manufacture of 588 

alteration and improvement of 588 

duty remitted on certain imported 590 

sale of old or unsuitable 593 

damage to, in hands of the troops to be reported 597 



696 INDEX. 

Armstrong, , Page. 

accepted appointment of deputy commissary 246 

Armstrong, John, 

requested to inspect magazines of provisions 87, 253 

Armstrong, John, 

mentioned 1 76, 297 

Army [see Officers), 

appointments on the civil staff confer no rank in the 14 

committee on retrenchment of expenses of the 14 

{see Northern army; Southern army.) 

mail matter for the, on Mexican frontier and in Mexico 31 

committee to provide for the sick of the 369 

innoculation in the, discontinued 393 

arrears of payment of the, not to exceed two months 460, 461, 462 

sale of stores jjrior to reduction of the 568 

Army Corps, 

staff officers of, how appointed 45, 112, 231, 348 

of, how constituted 76, 79, 116, 211, 345, 348, 355, 591, 604, 625 

ambulance service of 420, 421, 422, 423 

Army Register, 

retired officers to be borne on the 32, 40 

Arnold, Benedict, 

mentioned 245 

Arrest, 

warrant officers in the civil staff liable to 161, 293, 383, 490, 558, 644 

officers of the Commissary Department liable to 257 

Arsenals {see Naval arsenals; Manufactories; St. Louis Arsenal), 

Secretary of War to direct building and management of 565 

principal, where located 570 

establishment of 572, 576, 578, 582, 583, 584, 588, 591, 601 

keepers of, to make returns to Ordnance Department 580 

pay of officers employed in the 585 

Articles of War, 

to be distributed to the Army 54 

considered by Congress 123 

copies of the, to be countersigned by the Judge- Advocate of the Army. . . 123 

Article 69 ^ 128 

90 129, 133 

9i 133 

92 133 

Artificers (.see Pay; Clothincj; Rations), 

necessary, how appointed 167, 174, 201, 544, 553, 579, 586 

(.see Harness makers; Collar makers; Wheelwrights.) 

company of, authorized 186 

to have but one officer 560 

corps of, how organized 198 

regiment of, how organized 561 

dissolved 563 

removal to Carlisle of all, in Pennsylvania 562 

(.see (Southern arm'\) 

necessary, at Springfield to be retained 565 

guilty of neglect of duty, how punished 575 

in armories exempted from jury duty 576 

reports of, to be made 578 

may be attached to regiments, corps, or garrisons 580 

respecting, of the Ordnance Corps in Mexico 586 

to be designated as privates of the first class 591 

Artificial limbs, 

Surgeon-General to furnish ■ 425, 426, 432 

transportation to aj^plirants for 221, 223, 226 

Artillery (see Light artillery; Field artillery; Commissary of artillery; 
Conductor of artillery), 

uniform of 16, 21 

])urchase of wagons for the 1-17 

all sheei)skins to be preserved for use of tlie 322, 565 

a paymaster to be appointed to each battalion of 464 

comuiauding ofiicer of, to be member of sultordinate board of ordnance. . . 553 
arrange all business of tlie Ordnance l)epart- 
inent to be done in the lield 556 



INDEX. » ■ 697 

Arti i.i.ekv — Continued. Page. 

commanding officer of, to determine details for laboratory ^vork 557 

mentioned 557, 558 

allowances to commanding officer of 562 

a field officer of, to superintend business at Carlisle 562 

ammunition for the, in the Southern army 563 

Ordnance Department, merged into the 581 

act merging the Ordnance Department in the, repealed 583 

transfer of officers of, to the Ordnance Department 584, 585 

senior officer of, in Army Corps to act as chief of ordnance and artillery. . 591 

Artillery-aktificers, 

commissions i.ssued to officers of the 549, 554, 559 

to be under command of commissary-general of military stores 552 

pa\' of regiment of 553, 560, 561, 562 

appointments and promotions in regiment of 554, 559 

organization of regiment of, reduced 563 

Artiixerymex, 

respecting compan j* of laboratory 5.50 

Artillery yard, 

respecting plan for an 544 

Ashley, Moses, 

appointed brigade major pro tempore 95 

ASLXTIC CHOLERA, 

inquiry to be made into causes of 427 

Assessments (i<ee Quotas), 

of blankets to be made 252 

Atlantic Ocean, 

respecting deep waterways between the Great Lakes and the 526 

Assignment, 

of bounty land not recognized 11 

retired officers to duty 34 

forbidden 36 

at the Soldiers' Home authorized 37 

certain officers with increased rank revoked 232, 356 

officers to duty in the Weather Bureau revoked 625 

cjuota of men to be drafted in districts 668 

ASSOCIATION.S, 

Bureau of Refugees, etc. , to cooperate with 1 )enevolent 658 

Asylum {xee Military asylum). 

Auditors {see BAGGACiE wagons; Forage; Clothing), 

duties of army 98 

Autograph signatures, 

written, required in exercising franking privilege 36, 38 

Avery, Elisha, 

appointed deputy commissary -general of issues 263 

I)ay and rations allowed to 245 

mentioned 1 265 

Ay LETT, William, > 

elected deputy commissary-general for the troops in Virginia 243 

of purchases 262 

salary increased to $75 per month 251 

to purchase not exceeding 10,000 barrels of corn 251 

mentioned 282 

B. 

Barcock, Orlando E., 

mentioned 513 

Badges, 

on whom conferred; how worn 21 

may be worn on occasions of ceremony 36, 43, 44, 48 

Baggage wagons, 

allotment of, to general officers and line officers 172, 186, 494 

the Adjutant-General and assistants 63, 65, 172, 187 

Inspector-General and assistants 95, 102, 172, 187 

Judge-Advocate and deputies 12^^, 127, 172, 187 

officers of the Quartermaster's Department 1 72, 187 

Dejjartment of Military Stores 172, 559 



(198 INDEX. 

feAGGAGE WAGONS — Continued. Page. 

allotment of, to the chief physician of the Army 388 

commissaries of issues 308 

purchases 308 

prisoners 172, 187, 647 

deputy paymasters 172, 187, 454, 456 

army auditors 1 72 

geographers 189, 495 

Bailey, John, 

mentioned - 62 

Baird, Absalom, 

promotion of, in the Inspector-General's Department, authorized 113 

mentioned 86 

Bakers (.sw Pay; Katioxs), 

superintendent of, appointed 253 

all army, to be licensed by the superintendent 253 

contracts to be made with, to bake tiour into biscuits 264 

State of Pennsylvania requested to detail, from the militia 264 

company of, authorized 281 

superintendent of, to make returns 318 

Baltimore, Mn., 

a quartermaster appointed for town of 153 

respecting care of the sick in 370 

paymaster appointed in 447 

respecting deputy paymaster at 449 

removal of military stores at 546 

Baldesqui, Joseph, 

resignation accepte<l 451 

mentioned 451 

Baldwin, Jeduthan, 

appointed engineer in the Continental Army 487 

allowed pay and rank' of lieutenant-colonel 485 

to receive pay of colonel as heretofore 492 

mentioned 490,494,563 

Bancker, Everett A., 

mentioned 121 

Band, 

authorized for battalions of engineers 528 

Bandages, 

importation of, ordered 364, 365 

Bank of Philadelphia, 

requested to purchase cattle in lieu of flour 310 

Banks, John, 

appointment of, as conductor of artillery confirmed 568 

Bankson, John, 

appointed inspector pro tern 100 

Bannister, Seth, 

member of committee 283 

Barber, William, * 

on the march, attached to General Mifflin's division 60, 90 

to do dutv of subinspector in General Lord Stirling's division 94 

to undertake the subinspectorship of Hand's, Maxwell's, and Stark's 

brigades 95 

permitted, for the present, to decline duties of inspector 95 

appointed to act as subinspector 89 

division inspector 100 

Barber, Nathaniel, 

paj' of, as tleputy commissary of artillery 546 

resignation accepted 563 

Barker, Samuel Augustus, 

to act as brigade-major 56 

Barnes, Joseph K., 

mentioned -^^L 

Barrack Master General, 

pay of 151 

to make return of his assistants I6i> 

Barrack .\l\sters, 

appointment of - 1-13, 181, 198, 201 

discharge of - 1^^ 



INDEX. 699 

Barrack; master's department, Page. 

duties of officers of the, respecting articles furnished to Congress 157 

supernumerary officers in the, to be discharged , 166 

abohshed 166 

Barracks, 

to be buih Avhere permanent magazines are estabhshed 152 

respecting Iniilding of 155, 164, 184, 220 

placed in charge of Quartermaster-General 163 

to be provided for prisonei-s of war 640, 643 

Barrels, 

Flour, pork, and beef, how disposed of ^ 275 

Bartlett, John, 

electecl physician and surgeon-general of army in Northern Department. . 374 
mentioned 362 

Bartlett, Josiah, 

^Member of committee 247, 540 

Batchelder, Richard N., 

mentioned 140 

Bates, Alfred E., 

mentioned 443 

Bathorses, 

allotment of, to the Inspector-General 95, 1 72 

Judge- Advocate and deputies 126, 1 72 

officers of the Quartermaster's Department 172, 187 

Department of Military Stores 172, 

187, 567, 568 

commissary of prisoners 172, 647, 651 

brigade quartermasters 172 

express postmaster and express rider 172, 187 

Battalion paymasters, 

authorized for the Corps of Artillery 464 

Baxter, Jedediah H., 

mentioned 362 

Baynton, John, 

appointed deputy paymaster-general to the troops on the frontiers of Vir- 
ginia and Pennsylvania 447 

resigned 453 

mentioned 453 

Bayonets, 

respecting manufacture of 537, 539, 543 

good iirelocks without, not to be rejected 538 

impressment of 548 

Beackly, Christian, 

commissioned first lieutenant < if artiller}' artificers 549 

Beacons, 

sites for, to be determinetl by Topographic Bureau 505 

Beatty, John, 

elected commissary -general of prisoners 641 

resignation accepted 647 

mentioned 637 

Beauford, , 

mentioned 380 

Bebee, James, 

to be commissioned captain of sappers and miners 491 

mentioned 493 

Bedding, 

to be furnished to the troops 143 

Bedford, Gunnincj, 

appointed deputy muster master for the New York Department 631 

jiromoted muster master general 632 

mentioned 629 

Bedloe, William, 

mentioned 450 

Beef {sec Cattle; Barrels), 

exportation of, prohibited 251, 280 

committee to provide fresh 253 

States' quotas of 306, 312, 313, 314 

how delivered and paid for 307, 316 



,700 INDEX. 

Beef — ^Continued. Page. 

part of quota of, from Maryland may he retained in that State 310 

fresh, to be issued daily 322 

Beer, 

contracts to he made fur supplying 265 

Bell, John E., 

mentioned 52, 86 

Bell, William II., 

mentioned - - 238 

Bells {see Church hells). 

Beltox, John, 

to superintend the making and altering 100 muskets 547 

Benet, Stephen V., 

mentioned 534 

Bernard, Simon, 

to he assistant in the Corps of Engineers 499 

to have rank of hrigatlier-general by brevet 500 

Berrien, John, 

appointed brigade-major 59 

mentioned 59 

Bethlehem, Pa., 

removal of military stores to 548 

BiDDLE, Clement, 

elected deputy quartermaster-general 144 

appointed commissary-general of forage 152 

mentioned 144 

Bills of credit, 

depreciation of continental, to be remedied 17 

Binding, 

by the Public Printer not to exceed allotment to bureaus 44 

Binney, Barnabas, 

appointed hospital physician and surgeon 389 

Bird, , 

mentioned 540 

Biscuits, 

flour to be baked into 264 

respecting issue of captured 322 

Blacksmiths {see Pay; Rations; Clothing), 

company of, to be sent to camp 145 

to be attached to ambulance corps of divisions _ 422 

necessary, in Ordnance Department to be enlisted 579, 586 

to be designated as "corporals" 590 

Blaine, Ephraim, 

appointed to purchase blankets and shoes 243 

commissary for Colonel Mackay's battalion 248 

to the troops in Cumberland County, Pa 252 

elec'ted deputy commissary -general of purchases 265 

commissary-general of purchases 303 

to make returns of supplies furnished by each State - - - - 312 

continued commissary -general of purchases 317 

mentioned ' 238, 278, 303 

Bland, Richard, 

mentioned 1 26, 398 

Blaney, Aaron, 

pay and rations allowed to, as issuing storekeeper 244 

Blankets 

allowance to men bringing a good new, into camp ' ~>r^ 

assessment of, reconnnended to State legislatures '-52 

price to be charged to enlisted men for - |-t>8 

issues of _i' . _ 

to be delivered to director-general of hospital 277, 376 

Bleeker, Leonard, • 

to do the duty of inspector ^^'^ 

Blicker, James, - 

elected deputy commissary-general of issues - w 

mentioned ~ 



INDEX. 701 

Bloomfield. Moses. F&ge. 

appointetl hospital physician and surgeon 389 

resignation accepted ' 390 

mentioned 395 

Board of Commissioners (.<»y Soldiers' Home), 

to investigate plan for reclamation of alluvial basin of Misissippi River. . 512 
Board of C>rdxa>xe, 

composition of suboniinate 4S8, 553 

Board of Ordnance and Fortification', 

composition and duties of the 523, 602 

Bo.uiD of Treascry, 

mentioned 163,169,175,178,190,255.259.263.277. 

285, 2W, 298, 302, 305, 326, 327, 328. 450, 452, 457, 551. 557, 562 
Bo.uiD of War. 

reporte«i a form of a commission for staff officers 14 

to purchase six wagons, with horses and harness 147 

superintend the ci\"il departments of the Army 153 

prepare regulations for the Quartermaster s Department 155 

employ agents for the purchase of forage 155 

number of wagoners enUsted and regulations resi)ecting them to be reported 

to the 162 

to superintend the Quartermaster s Department 165 

procure from the Quartermaster-General returns of all officers, agents, 

etc. . of the department 165 

discharge supernumerary officers in the I5arrack masters department.. 166 

piu-chase covered wagons for the artillery 147 

tlirect disposition of goods seize! or contracted for in Philadelphia . . 159-290 
suspend or dismiss all supernumerary officers in the Quartermasters 

Department - 175 

furnish the Southern army with tents - 180 

make contracts for supph-ing the Army with beer, vegetables, soap, etc. 265 
cooperate with General Washington in effectual measures for supplving 

the Army '. - 268-548 

(.**>= Mass ACHrsErrrs Bat.) 
inquire what measures have been taken by the Pennsylvania legislature 

to lay up magazines ' — 279 

order purchases of flour and provisions, etc - 280 

employ agents to purchase meat - 280 

appoint directors and subdirectors of the company of bakers 281 

make regulations for conducting the hides department 285 

prepare instructions, etc., for the conduct of the clothiers department. 295 
appoint commissaries of hides and make regulations for their govern- 
ment - - 297 

advise State executive powers of any considerable additions to stock of 

clothing "- 299 

srive orders for supplving prisoners of war with Indian meal in lieu of 

" flour ". 300 

purchase leather 300 

superintend department of purchases and issues - 302 

furnish the S«xitheni army with clothing and equipments 318 

confer with minister from France respecting certain officers 4Sy 

frame regulations for the Corps of Engineers, etc 490 

employ persons for the manufacture of flints - 541 

contract for a munber of cannon of the new construction 546 

relative to delivery of leather by the - 547 

authorized to purchase p<:>wder and military' stores - 547 

relative to contracts for making steel 550 

to inquire into conduct of the armorer s department 554 

contract for muskets and bayonets 555 

furnish certain military stores to the S«juthem army 563 

ammimitiou and ecjuipments to the artiUer>- and cavalry in the 

Southern army : employ artificers to repair arms 563 

relative to officers ancl artificers at the Sprinsfield lalwratorv 565 

reports of - - 287, 291, 490. 491, 5H0 

mentioned 1-53, 161, 162, 

ItiS, 168, 170. 173. 174. 176. 17^. 260, 263. 270, 274. 277, 27v», 
280! 28:3. 285. 288, 296. 29S. 299. 304, 305, 308, 316. 317, 319. 
382. 490, 549, 5-50, 554, 555, >59, 560, 562, -563, 564, 565 



702 INDEX. 

Board of War and Ordnance, Page. 

to appoint agents to purchase necessaries for the Army 296 

all contracts for casting cannon turned over to the 547 

to submit estimate for a brass foundry 551 

appoint persons to manufacture tlints 541 

contract with i\Ir. Byers as superintendent of a brass foundry 553 

for battering cannon, mortars, etc 554 

appoint a field commissary of military stores 556 

surveyor of ordnance 558 

procure a quantity of shot and shell 560 

remove unnecessary officers in department of military stores ■ 560 

vacate contract with Mr. Byers 565 

mentioned 547, 551 , 552, 553, 556, 556, 557, 558 

Boards (.^tv Medical board; Light-House Board), 

ajjpointed to reorganize mode of making coast surveys 503 

consider subject of fortifications, torpedoes, etc 520, 601 

examine all inventions of heavy ordnance, etc 519 

to report on property of the Signal Corps 623 

Boards of engineers, 

appointed 51 1,512, 513, 519, 522, 524. 525, 526, 527, 528 

Boards cv enrollment, 

composition and duties of 668, 670, 672, 673, 674, 676 

Boards of examination, 

composition and duties of 211, 212. 346, 347, 470, 471, 673 

to pass on officers and men prior to detail for signal duty 614 

BoDo, Otto, 

appointed hospital physician and surgeon 389 

accepted commutation in lieu of half pay 401 

Bombardiers, 

company of, how organized 498 

disbanded 500 

Bomford, George, 

mentioned 534 

Bond, Jr., Thomas, 

elected purveyor 389 

mentioned 362, 391 

Bonds, 

to be furnished bv officers of the Quartermaster's Department 199, 

202, 205, 207, 208 

department of purchases 269, 

284, 285, 335, 338, 448 

issues 269, 284, 285, 448 

Pav Department 445, 448, 

455, 458, 459, 460, 461, 463, 464, 466, 467, 468 

Medical Department 410, 419, 423 

clothier-general 318 

paymasters and military storekeepers at arsenals and 

armories 585 

commissioner and assistants of Bureau of Eefugees, 

Freedmen, etc (§5, 656, 657 

of officers of the Pay Department, when to be renewed 469 

Books, 

for the inspecting and mustering department 179 

respecting purchase of, for the Adjutant-General's Office 80 

Boston Harbor, Mass., 

mentioned 511 

BouDiNOT, Eli AS, 

appointed commissary-general of prisoners, witli i-ank of colonel 639 

empowered to appoint deputies 639 

mentioned 127, 637. 641 

Bounty, 

wagoners to receive same, as enlisted men of the Army 161 

a suit of clothes as a . 162 

respecting a, for the manufacture of muskets 541 

to laborers of the Ordnance Department 579 

respecting, of soldiers transferred to the Navy 672, 677 

received by minors to l^e repaid before their discharge 675 

respecting, for colored volunteers 676 



INDEX. 703 

Bounty fund, Page. 

retained, of colored soldiersi, how disposed of 659,660 

Bounty land {see Land), 

artificers and laborers oi ordnance entitled to 586 

Bowman, John, 

elected depnty paymaster for the western district 453 

Box, Daniel, 

to do duty as brigade major 53, 55 

mentioned 54, 56 

Bradford, John, 

mentioned 179, 181, 273, 300 

Bradford, William, 

to do duty as brigade major 56 

Bradford, Jr., William, 

elected deputy muster master general 634 

mentioned 635 

Brandy, 

included in the ration 328, 330, 333 

Brandywine, 

issue of rum for gallantry of troops in battle of 268 

Brandywine Shoals, Pa., 

works on, mentioned ,=)04 

Braxton, Carter, 

mendjer of committee ,">40 

Brazos River Channel and Dock Company, 

mentioned 526 

Bread (see Hard bread). 
Breck, Samuel, 

mentioned 52 

Breck enridge, Joseph C, 

mentioned 86 

Breeches, 

purchase of leather and deerskins for 153, 274 

buckskin, to be purchased ] 42 

Breech-loading ciUNS, 

respecting contraction and test of 593 

Brent, Robert, 

mentioned 443 

Brevets (see Uniforms), 

may be issued to certain officers who in 1777 held a commission l)y, higher 
than their present rank _ 23 

conferrable for gallant services 26 

ten years' service in any one grade 26, 681 

only by consent of the Senate 29 

on volunteer officers for services prior to appointment in 

Regular Army 36 

when, entitled to pay or emoluments 456 

Brewen, Jeremiah, 

appointed to superintend the artificers 490 

Brewer, Jonathan, 

aj)i)ointed barrack master 142 

mentioned 142 

Brewer, Samuel, 

mentioned 53, 54 

Bribes, 

contractors offering, bow punished 216 

Bkue, Benjamin W., 

mentioned 443 

Brice, Jacob, 

appointed ))rigade major 62 

inspector 95 

Bridges, 

construction of, across the Detroit River 520 

Great Kanawha River, West Virginia 522 

location of, across Mississippi River at Hickman, Ky 522 

(s<?(' National Road; North River Bridge.) 

examination and construction of 511, 512 



704 INDEX, 

Bridges — Continued. Page. 

over the Mis^iissippi River to St. Louis, Mo 526 

{see Memorial Bridge. ) 

across Niagara River 527 • 

Brigade inspectors {see Pay; Rations; Forage; Baggage wagons), 

authorized 89, 93, 95, 96, 104, 105, 107, 108 

appointed 61, 89, 90, 91, 94, 95, 96, 100 

office of, annexed to tliat of brigade majors ' 61 , 93 

duties of 93, 97, 98 

re8i)ecting tents for 99 

pn ivisionally retained 110 

superseded by assistant inspectors-general 110 

Brigade majors (see Pay; Rations; Forage), 

authorized 53, 54, 60, 62, 65, 66, 67, 68, 70, 7 1 

appointed 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 62, 63, 65, 66 

to hold their rank in the line 60, 70 

office of ])rigade inspector annexed to that of 61 , 93 

Brigade quartermasters {see Pay), 

how appointed 156 

authorized 195, 202 

appointed 183 

to perform duties of conductors of military stores 568 

superseded by assistant quartermasters-general 202 

Brigades, 

respecting staff officers of 45 

composition of staff of 75, 96, 106, 194, 207, 210, 344, 416 

issue of signal flags to 186 

lieutenants of ambulance corps to be assigned to 420 

a conductor of military stores to be assigned to 559 

Brigade surgeons, 

to be known as surgeons of volunteers and attached to the general medical 

staff :. 419 

Brimfield, , 

appointed brigade insj)ector SO 

Brimstone, 

collection of, in the several colonies 535 

Brookfield, Mass., 

order for a laboratory at, revoked 547 

Brooks, John, 

attached, on the march, to General de Kalb's division 60, 90 

to be considered as deputy adjutant-general at West Point 62 

appointed to act as subinspector 89 

Brown, Clark, 

mentioned 144 

Brown, Daniel, 

pay and rations allowed to 244 

Brown, Hubbard, 

ap] lointed conductor of artillery 539 

Brown, James, 

elected chief physician of the Army 394 

mentioned 362 

Brown, Josiah, 

pay and rations allowed to, as clerk at scales 244 

Brown, Nathan 1)., 

mentioned 443 

Brown, William, 

pay and rations allowed to, as clerk 244 

Brown, William, 

elected assistant physician for the flying camp - 367 

surgeon-general of hospital in the middle department 375 

physician-general in the middle department 378 

resignation accepted 383 

mentioned 361 , 378 

Brownson, Nathan, 

elected deputy purvevor of hospital for the Southern armv 393 

hospital 398 



INDEX. 705 

Brunswick, N. J., Page, 

mentioned 380 

Brunswick, Ga., 

respecting inspection of work on outer bar of 525, 526 

Bt'CHANAN, William, 

elected deputy commissary -general of jjurciiases 262 

commissary-general of purchases 265 

mentioned 238, 264, 265, 279, 283 

Buckshot, 

to be put into all cartridges 548 

Buffi XGTON, Adelbert R., 

mentioned 534 

Buildings {see Pension Bureau; School buildings), 

rent of certain, occupied for public uses . - _ 571 

all, no longer wanted to be sold 178 

limitation of expenditures on public 229 

respecting, held by the late Confederate States 658 

Bullets, 

imjiorted, to be purchased '. 555 

BuLLiT, Thomas, 

appointed deputy adjutant-general 54 

advanced to rank of colonel 54, 57 

Bullock, Archibald, 

member of committee 540 

Buoys, 

sites for, to be determined by Topographical Bureau 505 

BuRBECK, Henry, 

mentioned 483 

Bureau of Refugees, F^eedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 

created 655 

to prohibit whipping or maiming. 659 

operations of, in States when discontinued 661 

educational department of the, to be continued 662 

when to be discontinued 663 

mentioned 656, 659, 660, 661, 662 

Bureau of Military Justice, 

created 131 

how constituted 131, 132 

merged into Judge-Advocate-General's Department 133 

Bureaus, 

heads of, not to print their reports at public expense 31 

receive pay for services when the Government is a party. 34 

official letters to heads of, to pass free of postage 38 

franking privilege conferred on heads of 34, 38 

{see Topographical Bureau.) 

official postage to be paid from contingent fund of 681 

Burke, Thomas, 

member of committee 253 

mentioned 318 

Burnet, William, 

appointed hospital physician and surgeon 389 

elected physician and surgeon-general of army in Eastern Department . . . 374 

chief physician and surgeon of the hospitals 392 

mentioned 362, 395 

Bushnell, David, 

to be commissioned lieutenant of sapi^ers and miners 491 

{•romoted to rank of captain 493 

to command the corps of sa^ pers and miners 495 

Butchers, 

pay of, by whom regulated 262 

how governed 305 

Butler, Anson, 

mentioned 548 

Butler, Edward, 

mentioned 51, 52, 85, o6 

Butler, Thomas, 

appointed public armorer 545 

mentioned 554 

S. Doc. 229 45 



706 INDEX. 

Butler, William, Page. 

mentioned 62 

Byers, James, 

mentioned 553, 565, 569 



C. 



Cabell, , 

appointed brigade major 61 

inspector S9, 94 

Cadets (se^; Medical Cadets), 

ten, authorized in Corps of Engineers 497 

Caldwell, Andrew, 

commissioned second lieutenant of artillery 549 

resignation accepted 559 

Caldwell and Mease, (Messrs. ), 

mentioned 246 

Calhoun, John C, 

mentioned 4, 5, 533 

California, 

respecting a deep-water harbor on the coast of 525 

pay of military storekeepers in, increased 587 

respecting arsenal buildings in 588 

California Debris Commission, 

how organized 525 

California Volunteers, 

traveling expenses of, discharged in certain Territories 472 

Calumet River, III., 

mentiotied * 519 

Calfskins, 

to be dressed for drumheads 311, 562 

Camden, N. J., 

mentioned 522 

Camp [see Flying Camp), 

respecting, in Virginia, for prisoners of war 160 

erection of shades and bowers in 186 

Campaigns, 

inspections and reviews to l)e held at end of 88 

Campbell, Donald, 

elected deputy quartermaster-general 141 . 

to have the rank of colonel 141 

Campbell, George, 

])romoted to rank of hospital j)hysician and surgeon 395 

Camp equipac^e, 

articles of, how obtained 145, 247 

to be purchased 1 45 

provision and distribution of 1 74 

Secretary of War to provide yearly for necessary 195 

may be issued to detachments of sailors or marines. 202 

Quartermaster's Department to receive and distribute all '. . 204, 340 

duties of line officers respecting, received by them 204 

to 1)6 furnished to Southern Army 318 

Camp kettles {^ee Kettles). 

Canada {see Commissary-General of Stores and Provisions, Muster-Master- 
General), 

medicines to be sent to troops in 365 

a physician and surgeon for the troops in 366 

Canadian volunteers, 

payments to 465 

Canals, 

engineer officers to be detailed for making surveys, etc. , of 500 

around Falls of the Ohio River mentioned 505 

(.sw Chesapeake and Delaware Canal.) 

respecting, routes from Lake Erie to the Ohio River 526 

[see Nicakaguan Canal; Illinois and Michigan Canal; Ship Canal; 
Iron Company Canal; Hennepin Canal; Louisville and Portland 
Canal.) 



INDEX. 707 

Candidates, Page, 

examination of all, for appointment in iio.^pital department 405 

Candles, 

exportation of, probibited 251 

Canisters (see Cartridge Canisters). 

Cannon committee, 

to estimate nnmber of cannon wanted 538 

purchase or contract for cannon 539, 540, 541 , 542 

increased 539 

to employ proper persons to see the cannon proved 540 

have certain cannon mounted if tit for service 544 

deliver all contracts to the Board of War 547 

Cannons {see Howitzers; Mortars; Ordnance; Contracts; Cannon Commit- 
tee), 

importation of 536, 537 

purchase of 539, 541, 544, 571 

powder to Ije furnished for ])roving 543 

(.see Furnaces.) 

disposition of captureil 544 

report on condition of - 570 

for port and harbor of Annapolis 573 

superintendent of manufacture of iron, authorized 586 

experiments and tests of 593 

all rifled, to be tested 600 

issues of smoothbore, for experimental purposes 601 

Canteens, 

to be provided 144, 687 

Canvas (see Tents) . 

Capitaine , 

granted rank of captain in the Corps of Engineers 488 

Capitol, 

removal of railroad track in front of the 511 

electrical apparatus in the, how supervised 512 

Capitulation, 

benefits to officers from, at Yorktown 19 

Captain, 

grade of, abolished in the Adjutant-General's Department 76 

Caps, 

worsted, authorized 142, 291 

purchase of uniform or forage, forbidden until old i)attern is exhausted .. 222 

woolen, to be issued to the troops 291 

Carbines, 

may be issued to employees of the Quartermaster's Department 143, 540 

Carey, Asa B., 

mentioned - 443 

Carey, Richard, 

appointed brigade major 53 

Carlisle, John, 

appointed an assistant to the Adjutant-General 64 

to do the duty of brigade major 65 

appointed assistant adjutant-general 66 

"Carlisle, Pa. (.see Commissary of Military Stores), 

magazines of provisions to be formed at 316 

military stores to be removed to 546 

iiay of contractor for lumber wanted at 549 

artificers in department of military stores in Pennsylvania to be removed to. 562 

respecting artillery artificers at 563 

Carne, John, 

a{ipointed assistant deputy apothecary in Southern Dejmrtment 395 

Carpenters, 

respecting appointment of a master 141 

carbines may be issued to, in Quartermaster's Department 143, 540 

Carpenters' tools, 

purchase of, for each regiment authorized 145 

Carriage makers (see Pay; Rations), 

employment of, in Ordnance Department, authorized 577, 586 

to be designated as " corporaV" 590 



V08 INDEX. 

Carriages, Page. 

committee to consider plan for providing, for public service 145 

impressment of, to be avoided 146 

issue of forage in cases of detained hired 149 

CARRixciToN, Edward, 

mentioned 190, 326, 457, 569 

Carrington, Mayo, 

appointment as deputy quartermaster-general for the Southern army 

confirmed '. ". 180 

Carroll, Charles, 

member of committee 14, 286 

mentioned 157 

Cartel (.s't'e Prisoners of avar). 

Carter and Wadsworth, (Messrs.), 

mentioned 324 

Cartridge boxes, 

how to be made 554 

Cartridge canisters, 

tin, may be supplied in lieu ( if boxes 544 

Cartridges, 

1 )Uckshot to be put in all 548 

respecting test of graduating and accelerating 593 

Cary's Ford Reef, Fla., 

works at, mentioned ■ 504 

Casey, Thomas L., 

mentioned 483, 513 

continued in charge of building for the Library of Congress 525 

Caswell, , 

mentioned 274 

Cattle {see Live stock; Inspector of cattle; AVagonmaster-General), 

horns of killed, to be saved 142, 538 

hides, tallow, etc. , of killed, to whom delivered 270, 291 

Connecticut requested to furnish 275 

superintendents of, how governed 305 

Bank of Philadelphia requested to purchase 310 

certain States called on for a supply of 310, 311 

Cavalry {see Forage), 

uniform of 21 

horses to be procured for the 180 

arms to be provided for the 544, 574 

ammunition and equipments for the, in Southern army 563 

Cavalry forge, 

division ambulance officer to have a traveling 422 

Cemetery {see National cemeteries), 

near City of Mexico subject to same rules as national cemeteries 221, 222 

Certificates, 

of administration of oath of office 175 

issues of, in Quartermaster's Department 160, 161, 177 

Commissary Department 259, 292, 309, 319 

of clothing 292, 293 

• lists of commissaries of purchases and issues authorized to give, to be 

made 326 

of discharge from draft 670, 671 

• enlistment of slaves 675 

Champion, , 

appointed barrack master to the French arm)- 181 

Channel, 

respecting a, through Southwest Pass of Mississippi River 526 

through Sabine Lake to be reexamined 528 

Chapman, Nathaniel, 

commissioned captain in regiment of artillery artificers 554 

excused from further service 561 

Chaplains {see Hospital chaplains). 

Charleston, S. C. {see Commissary of Prisoners). 

Cha.se, Samuel, 

member of committee - 246, 283, 367 



INDEX. 709 

Chase, Thomas, Page. 

to continue to do duty of brigade-major 53 

mentioned , 53 

Checks, 

in payment of claims of cnlored soldiers to whom made payal)le 660 

Cheever, Ezekiel, 

appointed commissai-y of artillery stores 536 

excused from further service 560 

mentioned 533, 539 

Chesapeake and Delaware Caxal, 

mentioned 526 

Chesapeake Bay, 

mentioned 500 

Chester, John, 

mentioned 56 

Chief Engineer, 

authorized 485 

appointed 487 

to be member of subordinate Board of Ordnance 488, 553 

Chief Hospital Physicians {see Pay), 

authorized 384 

appointed 389 

duties of 384, 3S5. 386, 387, 389 

to be appointed by Congress 388 

office of, abohshed 396 

Chief of Artillery and Ordnance, 

senior artillery officer in Army Corps to act as 591 

Chief of Engineers (.b^v Rank; Pay), 

authorized 509, 510, 513, 527, 529 

selection of 49S, 509, 510, 514 

to determine equipments for sappers and miners 504, 513 

letters to and from the, free of postage 502 

authorized to enlist artificers 497 

employ civil engineers 518 

special duties assigned to the 511, 513, 515, 516, 523, 524, 525, 527, 528 

entitled to use of books in Library of Congress 524 

mentioned "... 514, 515, 516, 521, 522, 523, 524, 525, 526, 528 

Chief of Ordnance {see Rank; Pay), 

authorized 579, 583, 590, 592, 594, 596, 604, 605 

duties (.f 579, 580, 581, 586, 596, 597, 603, 605 

how appointed 592, 597 

lettei's, etc. , to and from the, free of postage 584 

rank of assistant to the 603, 604 

mentioned 597, 600 

Chief of Staff, 

brigadier assigned to principal army to act as 72, 109 

Chief of Topographical Engineers, 

letters, etc. , to and from the, free of postage 502 

CiinoF Physician (.see Director-General and Chief Physician), 

authorized 3H6, 3S4 

api>ointed 366, 394 

to take the oath of office 390 

{see Pay; R.\tions; Forage; Land; Baggagje wagons; Southern 
Army. ) 

Chief Physician and Surgeon {see Physician; Pay), 

authorized 384 

appointed 364, 389, 392 

duties of 364, 386 

to 1)0 apjiointed by Congress 388 

take the oath of office 390 

office of, abolished 396 

Chief Signal Officer {see Rank; Pay; Rations), 

authorized 613, 614, 616, 624, 626 

duties of 614, 615, 622 

may sell surplus maps, etc 615, 616 

be detailed to take chariie of Weather Bureau 622 

mentioned 614, 616, 621, 623, 624 



710 INDEX, 

f 

CmxA, PdEie. 

ten per cent increased pay allowed officers serving in 48 

Choleka {see Asiatic cholera) . 

Church bells 

and others taken from New York to be returned 569 

Cider 

to be supplied to the Army , 265 

Church, Bex.iamix, 

elected director of, aiKi physician in, hospital 363 

mentioned 361, 364 

arrested for holding correspondence with enemy 364 

Church, Thomas, 

appointed brigade major 62, 95 

Churchill, Sylvester, 

mentioned 86 

Cincinnati, Ohio, 

respecting quartermaster's depot at 217 

Citizens, 

grant of half-jiav applicable only to othcers who are 13 

all authorized staff officers to be 70, 108, 195, 407 

Civilians, 

may l.)e appointed t(j fill vacancies in Quartermaster's Department 227 

Commissary Department 353 

authority to appoint, as superintendents of armories revoked 590 

to be examined before appointment as paymasters 477 

Civil engineers, 

may be appointed to vacancies in Corps of Topographical En^rineers 502 

em})loyment of, in Corps of Engineers 500, 518 

authorized 501 

authority for employment of, revoked 502 

Civil office, 

half-pay officers may hold a 15, 380, 453 

Civil staff, 

appointments on the, confer no rank in the Army 14, 635 

status of warrant officers on the 161 , 293, 380, 490, 558, 644 

Claiborne, Richard, 

appointed brigade major 59 

Claims, 

respecting, of creditors of the U. S 178, 181, 212, 309, 347 

to confiscated lands 657 

for pay, etc. , of colored soldiers 660 

t(j exemption from draft 674, 675 

for servants' quarters not allowed 684 

payment of, in favor of disloyal persons forbidden 511, 517, 686, 687 

Clark, Abraham, 

member of committee 254, 283 

mentioned 454 

Clay, Joseph, 

elected deputy paymaster-general in Georgia 448 

to place funds in hands of certain staff officers in State of Georgia 158, 450 

mentioned 289, 452 

Clerks {fee Pay; Rations; Forage). 

authorized for the Adjutant-General 64 

commissary-general of purchases 306 

military stores 551 

prisoners 644 

Paymaster-General 449, 452 

clothier-general 296, 298 

necessary, in Quartermaster's Department, how ajipointeil 167, 169, 176, 186 

hospital, by whom appointed 364 

ai)pointed, in department of military stores 568 

{see Paymaster's clerks.) 

Cleveland, Moses, 

to be commissioned captain-lieutenant of sappers and miners 491 

Clinton, George, 

member of committee 239 536 



INDEX. 711 

Clinton, James, Page, 

mentioned 55, 60, 94, 96 

CLOTHf 

no money to be paid for patent process for preservation of 223 

Ci.othier-general {see Pay; Bond), 

authorized 251, 293 

appointed 252, 297, 318 

duties of. . . 266, 267, 273, 275, 281, 287, 292, 293, 298, 301, 319, 320, 321, 322, 326, 491 

appointment of, announced to the Army 319 

to deliver all cloth tit for tents 148, 253 

send agents into each State to buy linen and clothing 251 

{see Commissary-general of clothing.) 

States requested to deliver linen fit for shirts to the 263 

to appoint an agent in Georgia 264 

deputies in each State 273 

remove stores to Bethlehem, Pa 268 

(,srt' Clothing; Caps; Clerks.) 

to deliver blankets, shirts, etc., for sick and wounded 273, 277, 376 

return goods taken from merchants in Philadelphia 293 

make full account of sale, etc., of goods taken in Philadelphia 293 

receive his instructions from the war office 323 

mentioned 182, 251, 252, 262, 274, 276, 285, 294, 321, 322, 376 

depntv in Georgia mentioned 289, 450 

duties of 290 

Clothiers' department {see Committee), 

compilation to be made of regulations of the 286 

ordinance regulating the 293 

respecting seizures made by officers of the 290 

mentioned 321 

Clothiers (^ff? Pay; Rations), 

authorized 293, 301 

duties of 1§2, 294, 295, 299, 301, 319, 321 

mentioned 266, 281 

Clothing (see Clothier-general; Clothiers; Commissary- of clothing; Uni- 
form) , 

allowance of, regulated 16, 247, 320 

issuable to staff officers 14, 301, 302, 380, 451 

officers of the hospital department 311, 381 , 388 

the commissary-general of prisoners 645 

hospital stewards 381 

geographers 325 

sergeants of ordnance 230 

artificers 16, 164, 302, 564 

of ordnance 579, 581, 591 

engineer soldiers - 497, 504 

enlisted men of the line 328, 329, 330, 331, 332, 333, 334 

wagoners 16, 161, 162, 164, 165, 302 

bakers __ 281 

officers' servants 17, 650 

respecting insufficiency of stock of 22 

i>urchase of materials for 142, 146, 240 

articles of 142, 241, 286 

punishment for embezzlement, etc., of 177 

transportation of - 1 82 

respecting damage to or deficiency in 182 

(Quartermaster-General to receive and distribute all 204, 340 

duties of line officers respecting, received by them 204, 224, 225 

respecting issues of 205 

importation of materials for 242, 243, 252 

to be provided 243, 246, 247, 250, 254, 264, 268, 271, 275 

(.«^rC\ps; Breeches; Stockings; Shirts; Linen; Woolen goods.) 

dis]>..siti()n of imported, and materials 247, 248, 252, 285, 287, 308, 322 

issued to troops, how paid for 249, 298, 301, 302, 464 

States recommended to impress 275, 276, 277 

employ agents for manufacture of 276, 277 

provide, for their respective lines 299 

(.sf'f Board of war; Blankets; Rations.) 



712 INDEX. 

Clothing— Continued. Page. 

purchases of and fontracts for, l)y whom made 328 

to be provided yearly 332 

surphis, to be sold ]>y district paymasters 334, 460, 461 

report on 327 

commissary-general of purchases to procure all 334 

no claim for use of patented process for preserving 220, 223 

sale of old pattern, after issue of new uniform 221 

President to prescribe quality and kind of 337, 338 

paymaster and assistants to have charge of 460 

extra issues of, authorized 211,219, 225, 424 

issue of, to be established in general regulations 464 

prisoners of war — 640 

destitute freedmen and refugees 655 

miscellaneous issues of, authorized 218, 219, 220, 222, 228, 687 

to be purchased for destitute citizens in Cuba 230 

mentioned 209, 

250, 299, 303, 308, 319, 321, 324, 337, 339, 343, 344, 382, 383, 464, 561 

Clymer, Daniel, 

appointed deputy commissary of prisoners 641 

Clymer, (teokcje, 

directed to send 3 tons of steel and 5 tons of nail rods for the use of the 

Army in the Northern Department 545 

Coast of the United States, 

respecting survey of the - 503 

Coats (see UniforiMs), 

wearing red, forbidden 19 

purchase of, not to be made until did i)attern is exhausted 222 

CoBURN, John, 

to be allowed lieutenant's pay 541 

Cochran, John, 

elected physician and surgeon-general in Middle Department 373 

chief physician and surgeon 389 

director of military hospital - 390 

mentioned 361, 362, 392 

Cochrane, Robert, 

to superintend hospital at Albany 382 

Coffee, 

allowance of, fixed 343 

may he commuted 345 

CociSWELL, Samuel, 

appointed deputy judge-advocate 127 

CociswELL, Thomas, 

appointed wagon master to the main Army 1 79 

Collar Makers, 

to be immediately sent to the camp 145 

Colonies, 

respecting importation of war material for the 536, 690 

requested to set their gunsmiths at work 537, 543 

employ persons to make saltpeter 537, 538, 539 

erect powder mills 540 

report condition of lead mines 541 

Colors (see Flags) . 

Colt, Peter, 

elected deputy comniissary-general of purchases - - - 266 

Columbia, S. C., 

arsenal to be established at 601 

Columbia Hospital, D. C, 

mentioned 425 

Columbia River, Wash., 

mentioned 522 

Columbus, Ohio, 

arsenal to be established at 591 

Combs, 

to be provided for the Army 262 



INDEX. 713 

Commander in Chief {see George Washington), Page. 

committee appointed to confer with, on retrenchment of expenses 14 

recommended that business of repairing coats be considered a primary 

object - ". 22 

empowered to furlough general and staff officers not necessary for the 

troops remaining in seryice 23 

to regulate issue of forage 58, 151 

appointment of brigade majors by the, limited to captains of the brigade. 60 

assistants to the Adjutant-CTeneral to be approved by the 61 

to make regulations for the musters of troops 95 

may increase allowance of wagons and bathorses 95, 172, 186 

to appoint inspectors and subinspectors to militia in actiye seryice 96 

regulate time, place, and mode of inspections 100 

appoint a wagon master and master carpenter and fix their pay 141 

fix allowance of forage 151 

order building of storehouses and stockaded barracks at places where a 

capital magazine is established 152 

arrange the Quartermaster's Department to the westward 160 

authorized to enlist a corps of wagoners 161, 162 

to incorporate corps of wagoners with the line of the Army 164 

designate places of deposit for the States' quotas of supplies 166 

regulate issue of clothing to wagoners 182 

issue of forage to the - - 187 

Ijaggage wagons and bathorses for the — 186 

to form and fix magazines of provisions 245 

offered reward for best substitute for shoes 274 

authorized to determine the ration to be issued to troops 288 

to arrange the Commissary Department to the westward 292 

nomination, by the director of hospital and chief physician and surgeon, 

of surgeons not belonging to any State line, subject to approval of the. . 395 

to form and fix magazines of military stores 541 

with the commander of artillery, to arrange all business of the Ordnance 

Department necessary to be done in the field 556 

to make a return of the officers in the Engineer Department 492 

direct what clothing shall be issued to artificers 564 

be furnished with returns of ordnance and ordnance stores 565 

appoint a commissary of prisoners 650 

mentioned 150, 

151, 158, 162, 166, 168, 170, 171, 172, 173, 174, 179, 180, 181, 185, 186, 242, 
245, 251, 254, 255, 257, 258, 259, 260, 261, 266, 270, 282, 283, 284, 287, 293, 
294, 295, 300, 301, 305, 307, 314, 316, 318, 319, 320, 321, 322, 323, 324, 325, 
363, 366, 368, 370, 372, 380, 384, 335, 386, 393, 395, 396, 398, 448, 451^ 488, 
490, 491, 493, 495, 541, 555, 556, 557, 558, 559, 560, 563, 564, 566, 567 
Commerce, 

observations and signals for the benefit of 614 

Commissary Department {see Subsistence Department), 

pay, etc. , to certain employees in the .- 244, 245 

respecting supervision of the 274, 291 

transmission of funds for the 283 

{See Certificates. ) 

Cf )mmander i a Chief to arrange the, Avest ward 292 

States requested to inquire into conduct of all persons in the _ 297 

report on condition of the 327, 328 

mentioned 255 

Commlssarv-General of Clothing, 

to supply the Army with combs 262 

Com.missarv-General of Forage {see Pay; R.\tions), 

a{)pointed in the main Army 152 

to supply forage for horses of members of Congress 164 

Commissary-General of Issues {see Pay), 

authorized 2.54 

appointed 263 

to take the oath of office 261 

(Uities of 255, 256, 

257, 258, 261), 262. 268, 269, 275. 287, 290. 291, 305, 306, 321, 326, 643 
mentioncl - 266,279,300,303 



71-1 INDEX. 

Commissary-General ok Issues — Continued. Page. 

deputy, authorized 254, 264, 269, 271, 272 

" appointed 263,264,265,266,272,278,291 

to take the oath of otlice 261 

mentioned 269, 279 

Commissary-General of Military Stores [see Pay; Rations; Forage), 

authorized - .551 

appointed 565 

duties of 546, 548, 551 

mentioned 155, 557 

Commissary-General of Musters (see Rank; Pay; Rations), 

authorized ^33 

appointed 634 

duties of -_ 633 

mentioned 252, 634 

and assistants granted one year's pay 636 

deputy, appointed - 635 

Commissary-General of Ordnance, 

authorized 576 

duties of 577, 578, 579 

letters etc. , to and from the, free of postage 579 

Commissary-General of Prisoners [see Pay; Rations; Clothing), 

appointed 639, 641, 648 

duties of 549, 639, 640, 641, 642, 644, 645, 647, 649 

to be informed Congress disapproves of partial exchanges 643 

reside at Army headquarters 644 

mentioned 291, 639, 641 

Commissary-General OF Purchases (.set' Pay; Rations; Forage; Bond), 

authorized 254,281,316,334,339 

appointed - 265,283,303 

to take the oath of office 261 

keep his office where Congress shall sit 261 

not obliged to reside at place where Congress sits 283 

duties of 255, 257, 260, 262, 264, 268, 269, 270, 271, 276, 277, 281, 282, 283, 284, 

285, 287, 288, 289, 290, 291, 299, 300, 302, 305, 312, 316, 317, 326, 334, 336, 343 
{see Certificates. ) 

not to be interested in trade 334, 335 

letters, etc. , to and from the, free of postage 335 

mentioned 273, 275, 278, 279, 289, 300, 316, 317, 335, 336, 337, 448, 641 

office of, aVjolished - 342 

assistant, authorized 284 

to reside at Army headquarters - 284 

not to be interested in trade 335 

mentioned 317 

deputy, authorized 254, 264, 269, 271, 272, 304, 316, 334 

appointed 265, 266, 273 

to take the oath of office 261 

duties of 254, 

256, 257, 260, 264, 269, 270, 273, 282, 284, 293, 317, 334, 336, 364 
{see Certificates. ) 

funds for the deputy, in Georgia -450 

deputy, mentioned 278, 299, 302, 641 

Commissary-General of Stores and Purchases {see Pay; Forage), 

authorized -39 

appointed 239 

appointment of, announced to the Army : - - - 239 

duties of 152, 158, 240, 245, 246, 247, 249, 250, 254 

to deliyer all stores to Commissary-General of Issues 255 

and deputies entitled to benefits under the Yorktown capitulation 19 

mentioned 251 

deputy, authorized 239, 243 

appointed 243 

duties of 240,245,248,251 

Commissary-General of Subsistence (see Rank; Pay; Rations), 

authorized 338, 339, 345, 348, 350 

to give bond and not to be concerned in trade 338 

how appointed 349, 35- 



INDEX. 715 

Commissary-Gexekal of Subsistence — Continued. Page. 

duties of 338, 347 

letters to and from the, free of postage 339, 340 

ex officio commissioner of the Soldiers' Home 343, 352, 353 

mentioned 340, 352 

assistant, authorized 341, 346, 348, 349, 350 

Commissary of army accounts, 

duties of Paj'master-General merged with those of the 457 

Commissary of artillery {see Pay), 

authorizetl 536 

appointed - 536 

member of subordinate board of ordnance 553 

Commissary of clothing {see Pay; Rations), 

authorized - 246, 247, 248 

appointed 248 

assistants to the, authorized 247 

Commissary of forage (ire Pay; Rations; Baggage wagons; Bathorses), 

authorized 148, 155, 169 

appointed 179 

duties of 155, 158, 169, 170 

mentioned 148, 150, 155, 159, 288 

assistant, authorized - - 169 

duties of 158, 169, 170 

Commissary of hides {see Pay) , 

authorized - 263, 297 

a])pointed 263, 265 

duties of ^ - 263, 270, 271, 274, 547 

mentioned 285, 291, 297, 321 

assistants, authorized 298 

Commissary of hospitals {seeYw; Rations; Clothing), 

authorized - 370 

Commissary of issues {see Pay; Forage), 

authorized 264, 280, 285, 337 

appointed 245,248,249,252 

duties of 98, 258, 259, 260, 261, 267, 270, 281, 306, 311, 376, 382, 562, 565 

mentioned 246,263,293,296,641 

Commissary of military stores {see Field commissary of military stores), 

authorized 551, 560, 567, 568 

appointed • 542, 545, 549 

not to dispose of stores without order of Congress 568 

in Pennsylvania to return certain bills 569 

{see Pay; Baggage wagons), 

mentioned 263, 547, 551, 566, 567 

deputy, mentioned 571 

Commissary of musters {see Pay), 

authorized *531 

Commissary of ORDNANCE (.see Pay), 

deputy, authorized 576, 579 

duties of 577 

COM.MISSARY OF ORDNANCE STORES, 

appointed 549 

Co.MMissARY OF PRISONERS (see Pay; Ration^; For.vge; Baggage ava(;ons; Bat- 
horses), 

salary of, to be fixed bv commander in chief 639 

authorized 1 639,648,650 

duties of _. - 639, 644 

order of, sufficient for issue of provisions 278, 641 

mentioned -- 650 

deputy, authorized 639 

appointed - 641 

duties of 649 

Commissary OF purchases (.svc Pay; Baggage wagons), 

authorized - -SO, 336 

appointed 286 

to take oath of office 284 

duties of 256, 284, 317 

allowances to 281 , 283 



716 INDEX. 

Commissary of purchases — Contimied. Page. 

mentioned 247, 307, 318 

deputy, authorized 334, 337 

duties of 334 

to give bonds 335 

mentioned 335 

assistant, authorized 304, 317 

appointed 2S2 

duties of 282, 305 

allowances to certain 264, 282 

Commissary of stores {see Fay), 

duties of 246 

mentioned 246 

deputy, authorized 247, 248, 251 

mentioned 247 

assistant, appointed 250 

Commissary of stores and provisions, 

Connecticut to appoint a. 239 

appointed 239, 243, 245 

Commissary of subsistence (w'cRank; Pay), 

authorized 340, 341, 342, 344, 345, 348, 349, 350 

to give bonds 342 

to be examined as to qualifications 346 

number of, reduced 350, 355 

mentioned 355, 356 

assistant, authorized 339, 342 

not separated from the line 341 

to give bonds 342 

be examined as to qualitications 346 

Commissary for horses and wagons, 

authorized 155 

Commissary sergeants, 

authorized 349, 350, 351, 357 

Commission (»'e Mississippi River Commission; INIissouri River Commission; 

California Debris Commission; Deep Waterways Commission). 
Commission (Army), 

in every, ' ' United States ' ' to replace ' ' United Colonies " 11 

form of, for staff officers 14 

Commission, 

officers of Quartermaster's Department receiving a, not entitled to pay or 

rations 162 

allowed to Commissary-General of Purchases 243, 281 , 304 

superintendents for purchase of flour 280 

deputy paymasters-general 454 

Commissioner of Pensions. 

to pay commutation for artificial limbs 425, 432 

Commissioner of Public Buildings and Grounds, 

office of, abolisiied ; duties of, bv whom performed 511 

duties of ' 510, 511, 512 

Commissioner of Bureau of Refugees and Freedmen {sec Pay; Bonds; 
Oath of Office), 

authorized 1... 655 

duties of 655, 656, 657, 658, 659, 660, 661, 662 

mentioned 660 

assistant, authorized 655, 656 

how appointed 662 

duties of 657, 658 

army officers not entitled to extra pay for duty as 656 

detailed as, may be retained 661 

Commissioners (sf.e Engineer Commissioner; Soldiers' Home). 
Committees of Congress {see Cannon; Medical; Secret Committees), 

to extract from the journals all resolutions relative to the Army 14 

confer with General Washington on means of retrenching expenses 14 

consider a report for a further allowance to officers of the Army 15 

i'onfer with General Washington to perfect arrangement of staff depart- 
ments 17 



INDEX. 717 

Committees of Congress — Continued. Page. 

to confer with Mr. du Coudray 87 

define powers to he granted and exercised by ]Mr. du Coudray 87 

purcliase woolen goods for the use of the Army ." 142-240 

materials for watch coats 142-241 

consider plan for providing carriages for the public service 145 

confer with General Washington on improvement of present state of 

the army in Philadelphia 146-249 

in Philadelphia to inform the Quartermaster-General of number of horses 

and oxen fit for service 147 

in conjunction with General Washington to make appointments for the 

Quartermaster's Department 155 

to extract from the journals the regulations of the Quartermaster's Depart- 
ment 157 

superintend the Quartermaster's Department 159 

■ on Quartermaster's Department, increased 163, 164 

discharged 165 

to inquire into easiest methods of making salt 239 

devise ways and means for providing clothing 246 

provide the northern army with provisions 246 

employ persons to purchase blankets and woolens. 247 

on clothing, increased 247 

the Commissary Department, increased. 253, 282, 298, 299, 300 

Commissary Department, and to devise means for supplying the Army 

with fresh beef, consolidated .' 253 

to devise ways and means for obtaining a supply of salt 254 

report of committee on the Treasury 267 

to confer with Mr. Wadsworth respecting office of commissary-general of 

purchases \ 283 

extract from the journals the regulations of the commissary's and 

clothier's departments ". 286 

marine committee, mentioned 287, 300 

to superintend the Commissary Department 291 

on the clothier's department, increased 291 

departments of purchases and issues, discharged 303 

to report on method of establishing an hospital 363 

devise ways and means for obtaining medicines 364, 367 

relative to purchase of medical stores by the 364, 367 

to forward medical stores, etc. , to certain points 365, 367, 368 

procure medicines, increased 365, 366 

inquire into abuses in the Medical Department 368 

report of, on the Treasury 450 

on the Treasury, mentioned 452, 453 

to repair to the camp, mentioned 485 

consider waj's and means to obtain ammunition and military stores ... 535 

devise ways and means to introduce manufacture of saltpeter 535 

make inquiries relative to lead and leaden ores 536, 537 

advise General Schuj-ler to purchase arms of sick officers and soldiers . 537 

contract for making muskets and bayonets 539, 541 

devise ways and means to encourage manufacture of saltpeter, sulphur, 

etc 1 540 

consider plan for an artillery yard 544 

procure steel and nail rods 545 

reports of 145, 146, 153, 155, 190, 250, 282, 287, 310, 326, 363, 555, 569 

Commutation (.s^'f Subsistence money; H.\lf pay), 

rate of, for rations 11, 

14, 18, 20, 25, 26, 31, 35, 185, 261, 323, 325, 333, 379, 470, 575, 681 

respecting, of forage 18, 21, 25, 27, 33, 40, 67, 68, 70, 71, 103, 104, 106, 108, 128 

rations 19, 67, 104 

not allowed to officers neglecting to draw rations 21 

officers furnished quarters in kind not entitled to increased 36 

for fuel i^rohibited _ 41 

of rations may be paid to soldiers held prisoners of war 348 

Commutation money, 

may be paid by drafted men 671, 674 

not accepted unless from noncond)atants 677 



718 INDEX. 

Companies {see Green and Barren River Navigation Company; Monon- 
GAHELA Navigation Company; Portage Lake and River Company Canal; 
Lake Superior Ship Canal Raiiavay and Iron Company Canal). 
Compensation, Page. 

to owners of slaves enlisted - 676 

Conductor of artillery, . . 

authorized '^ "^6 

appointed -^ '^^39 

Conductor of military stores {see Pay; Rations; Forage), 

authorized 551 

appointed 568 

duties of - "^^^ 

to be appointed to each brigade 559 

{see Field commissary of military stores; Brigade quartermasters.) 
Conductor op wagons (see Wagon master; Pay; Rations), 

authorized - ^"1) 1*^6 

how appointed - _ 167 

mentioned I'l^, 182 

Confederate States, 

respecting land, buildings, etc., held by the late 058 

Congress, Continental (.s^e Thanks of congress; Resolves of congress), 

reserved power of a].pointment or promotion 11 

distribution of the journals of - - - - 63, 99 

care of horses of members of 156, 164, 179 

issues of stores to members of 153, 269 

discontinued '. 166, 306 

member of, to visit hospitals in middle department 376 

Connecticut, 

uniform of the, line - - 15 

magazines of provisions to be established in 157 

quota of, to be furnished in forage ^ 166 

provisions 306, 307, 312 

ill stores, when deliverable : - - - : ^^"^ 

authorities of, requested to appoint commissaries 239 

assist in procuring transportation 272, 275 

furnish flour 304 

cattle 310 

collect saltpeter and brimstone 535 

provisions furnished by, how paid for 307 

respecting the Salisbury Iron Works in 549 

Connor, Morgan, 

to act as Adjutant-General pro tempore _ 57 

mentioned 51, 58 

Contagious diseases {see Clothing), 

respecting hospital for - 368 

Contingent fund (.see Portage), 

restriction on expenditure of ,- 684 

Contractors, 

necessary, to be appointed - 167^ 

allowances to 1^1 

offering bribes, how punished 216 

employment of, not desirable for supplying the Northern army 251 

duties of, supplying rations - 322 

respecting settlement with 454 

pay of the, at Carlisle, Pa 549 

Contracts (.see Inspector of contracts), 

how made 29, 177, 191, 193, 195, 203, 208, 209, 225, 309, 328, 331, 338, 339, 

343, 344, 352, 402, 403, 415, 431, 507, 508, 516, 571, 575, 589, 599, 617 

report on system of supplying the Army by 170, 191 

performance of, for subsistence of the Army 327, 328 

where to be deposited 194, 331 , 404, 575 

for casting cannon 540, 542, 546, 554, 565 

for subsistence of Southern army - 248 

all, for casting cannon to be turned over to the Board of War 547. 

respecting manufacture of arms by 588 

uniformitv in making " 509, 686, 687 

restriction on the making of 225, 352, 432, 517, 599, 617 



INDEX. 719 

Contract surgeons {See Mileage), Page. 

authorized 436, 438 

nninl)er of 428 

limitation on number of, suspended 428 

to attend families of officers and men 433 

Converse, Thomas, 

to do duty of brigade-major pro temi)ore 63 

inspector 99, 100 

Conway, Thomas, 

appointed major-general 88 

mentioned 58, 59, 60, 85, 88, 89, 91 

Cooke, , 

mentioned 146 

Cooking, 

Medical officers to assist in supervision of, for the men 420 

Cooks, 

ten, allowed in the signal corps 626 

Cooper, Samuel, 

mentioned 52 

Coopers, 

authorized 261, 275 

pay of, by whom regulated 262 

mentioned 305 

CoPELAND, Asa, 

appointment of, as conductor of artillery, confirmed 568 

Copper, 

(Tovernor of Virginia requested to purchase 544 

Corbin, Henry C, 

mentioned 52 

Corn {see Indian Corn). 

Cornell, E., 

mentioned 564 

Cornell, Ezekiel, 

aijpointment of, as inspector for main army announced 324 

mentioned 324 

Cornets, 

subsistence money t( >, of horse 299 

Corporals, 

armorers, carriage makers, and blacksmiths to be designated as 590 

Corps of artificers {see Artificers), 

how organized 198 

Corps of ExctINEers {see Engineering Department; Chief of Engineers), 

uniform of the 18 

organized 490, 497, 510, 513, 527, 528, 529 

increased 498, 502, 503, 508, 509 

commandant of the, by whom appointed 490 

appointed 491 

how selected 498 

(see Shirts; Linen.) 

returns of the officers of the, to be made 492 

accepted commutation in lieu of half-pay 495 

memorial on necessity for a 495 

to constitute a inilitary academy 497, 498 

l>rofessors attached to the 497, 498 

enlisted men in the, authorized 497 

(see Board of Engineers; Engineer officers; Engineer soldiers.) 

retained 499 

assistant in the, authorized 499, 500 

{see Paymasters.) 
respecting appointments and promotions in the 511, 512, 519 

Corps of Topographical Engineers (see Vacancies), 

organized 502 

increased 508, 509 

special duties assigned to colonel of the 505 

details of ofiicers of the 503, 505 

abolished 509 



720 INDEX. 

CouLOUX AND Penet, (Messrs. )> Page. 

mentioned 555 

contract with j 555 

Court-martial, 

respecting depositions in trials by 125, 133 

attendance of civilian witnesses 125, 130, 132, 133 

duties of the judge-advocate of a 129, 133, 134 

CowAX, Isaac, 

commissioned captain of artillery 549 

to receive additional pay 550 

mentioned 550, 560 

Cox, John, 

appointed assistant quartermaster-general 156 

to employ a deputy to attend Congress 156 

Cox, Richard, 

continued in the office of brigade major 65 

mentioned 66 

Craig, Henry K., 

mentioned 1. 534 

Craig, James, 

mentioned 362 

Craighill, William P., 

mentioned -. 483 

Craigie, Andrew, 

elected apothecary 389 

mentioned — . 362 

Craik, James, 

elected chief hospital physician 389 

appointed chief physician and surgeon 392 

mentioned 362, 392 

Crane, Charles H., 

mentioned - - 3t)2 

Crane, Stephen, 

member of committee 239, 536 

Crawford, William, 

mentioned 59 

Crawford, William H., 

mentioned — 5 

Credit, 

respecting purchase of rations on 687 

Credits, 

respecting, in drafts ordered 678, 679 

Creditors, 

settlement of claims of 178, 309, 318 

payments to disloyal, forbidden 424, 472, 511, 592, 686, 687 

Crocket, James, 

mentioned 593 

Croghan, George, 

appointed brigade major 61 

inspector 89, 94 

mentioned 86 

Crook, Joseph, 

appointed to superintend the hospital at New Windsor 400 

Cuba, 

pay of officers in, increased 47 

issue of public stores to destitute inhabitants of 231, 356 

arms, etc. , to the people of 604 

Cumberland road, 

mentioned 501 

Cumming. William, 

mentioned 1-10 

CusHiNG, Nathaniel, 

continued in the office of brigade-major 66 

Cushing, Samuel T., 

mentioned 338 

Cushing, Thomas H., 

mentioned 52, 86 



INDEX. 721 

Custom-house, Pagre. 
respecting compensation of topographical engineer charged with construi'- 

tion of, at New Orleans 505 

Cutter, Ammi Ruhamah, 

elected physician-general of hospital in Eastern Department 374 

resignation accepted 378 

mentioned 361 

CuYLER, Jacob, 

elected deputy commissary-general of prisoners 262 

D. 

Dabney, Charles, 

to superintend the hospitals in Jersey 380 

mentioned 380 

Ualecarlia Reservoir, 

mentioned 526 

Dallam, Richard, 

elected deputy paymaster-general for the flying camp 446 

Dalton, Peter Roe, 

pay and rations allowed to, as clerk 244 

Damacjes, 

willful, to cMthing, how punished 182, 205, 321 

cost of, to arms or public supplies, how assessed 501, 515, 580, 687, 689 

Dana, Francis, 

member of committee 283 

Davidson, John, 

appointed brigade-major 62 

Davies, William, 

to do the duty of adjutant-general pro tempore 61, 94 

attached on the march to General Sterling's division 60, 90 

appointed to act as subinspector 89 

resigned 146 

appointed deputy muster-master-general for the flying camp 632 

Davis, Nelson H., 

reappointment of, in the Inspector-General's Department authorized 113 

mentioned 86 

Davis, Robert, 

pay and rations allowed to, as clerk 244 

Day, Benjamin, 

appointed brigade-major 57 

Dayton, Elias, 

member of committee 326 

mentioned 190, 569 

Day'ton, Elias, (Colonel) 

mentioned _ - 59 

Deane, Silas, 

member of committee 239, 240, 535, 536, 537 

mentioned 87, 142, 488 

Dearborne, , 

appointed deputy quartermaster to the main army 182 

DE BouiLLi, , 

mentioned 90 

i)E Borre, Prud' Homme, 

mentioned - 58, 59 

De Brahm, Ferdinand, 

appointed engineer with rank of major 488 

promote<l lieutenant-colonel 495 

services dispensed with 495 

Debts, 

dues to the Government for moneys received, how paid 310 

De Butts, Henry, 

mentioned 51, 85 

Deep Waterways Commission, 

respecting pay of engineer member of the 528 

Deerskins, 

purchase of 153, 246, 274 

8. Doc. 229 46 



722 INDEX. 

Deficiencies {see Damages). Pag^- 

De Gouvion, Jean Baptiste Obrey, 

appointed major of engineers 487 

lieutenant-colonel in the Army 488 

to take command of the corps of sappers and miners 492 

receive the brevet of colonel 494 

granted leave of absence for six months 494 

having served with distinguished merit, has leave to retire from the service 

of the United States _. 495 

mentioned 489, 491 

De Hass, John P., 

mentioned 58, 59 

De Kalb, John, 

mentioned 90, 154 

De la Balme, Mottin, 

appointed inspector-general of cavalry - 87 

mentioned 8f , 87 

resigned 87 

DE La Fayette, Marie Jean Paul Joseph Yves Gilbert dv Motier, 

mentioned 60, 90, 9j . 100 

Delafield, Richard, 

mentioned 483 

DE la Neuville, Sr., Noirmont, 

appointed inspector of the Army under General Gates 90 

pay and rations allowed to 90 

mentioned 90 

De la Neuville, Jr., Noirmont, 

to have rank of major by brevet - 92 

allowed pay and subsistence of a major 94 

mentioned 91 

De la Radiere, Baileul, 

appointed colonel of engineers 487 

colonel 488 

mentioned 489 

De Laumoy, , 

appointed colonel in the Army of the United States, as engineer 488 

having served with distinguished merit, has leave to retire from the serv- 
ice of the United States 495 

mentioned 488, 489, 491 

Delaware, 

uniform of the, line 15 

authorities of, requested to impress certain supplies 158, 289 

quota of, to be furnished in forage 166 

provisions 306, 313 

provisions furnished by, when deliverable ' 315 

respecting purchase of flour in 287 

to furnish flour 303, 304 

cattle 310 

Delaware River, 

respecting improvement of the 528 

Delezeume, Joseph, 

to report why he assumed command of the sappers and miners at West 

Point 495 

De Murnand, John Barnard, 

appointed major in the Corps of Engineers 490 

Denny, Ebenezer, 

mentioned 51 

Dent, James T., 

mentioned 121 

Dental surgeons, 

authorized ; how appointed 438 

Department of Education, 

Commissioner of Public Buildings, etc., to furnish offices for the 511 

Department of Issues, 

placed under superintendency of the Board of War 302, 303 

Resolves of Congress respecting the, repealed 318 

Department of Military Stores, 

report on state of the 560 



INDEX. 723 

Department of Military Stores — Continued. Page. 

pay and appointments of officens of the 562 

artifieer.s of tlie, in Pennsylvania to be removed to Carlisle 562 

inspection of the, to the Eastward 564 

certain resolves of Congress respecting the, repealed 567 

chief of the, to submit property returns 569 

Department of Purchases, 

to be superintended by the Board of War .'502, 30;^ 

Department of the Interior, 

supervision of the Potomac waterworks transferred to the 509 

Departments (see Staff Departments; Military Departments). 
Dependent, 

No one to be deemed, who is able to find employment 657 

Depositions, 

may be taken in cases not capital 125 

Depots, 

of forage, where established 170 

Quartermaster-General to establish 214 

inspection of certain quartermasters 217 

an officer of the Quartermaster's Department to be assigned to principal. 231, 232 

Commissary Department to be assigned to principal 348 

of arms, etc. , to be established 580 

Depreciation, 

respecting, of continental bills of credit 17 

De Rochefontaine, Bechet, 

appointed captain in the Corps of Engineers 489 

to receive the brevet of major 494 

Deserters, 

oflicers leaving their posts before acceptance of resignation deemed 32, 33 

drafted men failing to report deemed 669, 678 ■ 

expenses of arrest of, how paid 669 

Desertion, 

abettors of, by substitutes, how punished 679 

Des Plaines River, III., 

respecting improvement of the 528 

D'Estaing, , • 

mentioned 287, 289, 642 

Destitute, 

no one to be deemed, who is able to find employment 657 

Details, 

regulates, for servii;e in the Adjutant-General's Department 81, 82 

Inspector-General's Department 117, 118 

Judge- Advocate-General's Department 134, 

135, 136 

Quartermaster's Department 233, 234 

Subsistence Department 357, 358 

Medical Department 439 

Pay Department 478, 479 

Ordnance Department 606 

Signal Corps 626, 627 

respecting, of Pennsylvania militiamen as bakers 264 

regimental surgeons for duty in hospitals 373, 384 

naval ofticers 500 

for ambulance duty 420 

duty as acting hospital stewards 434 

of engineer officers 500, 501, 502, 505, 511, 512, 513, 514, 517, 518, 

519, 520, 522, 523, 524, 525, 526, 527, 528 

soldiers 504, 514, 529 

for Signal Service 614, 616, 618, 619, 620, 621 

service in Weather Bureau 62-2 

Detroit, Mich., 

respecting expedition against 157, 286 

bridge at or near 518, 520 

Detroit, River, 

respecting construction of bridge across the 518, 520 

tunnel under the, near Detroit, Mich 524 



724 INDEX. 

DeVillefranche, Page. 

appointed major in the Corps of Engineers 488 

promoted to rank of lieutenant-colonel by brevet 495 

De Vrecourt, , 

appointed engineer in the service of the United States 487 

DeWitt, Simeon, 

appointed geographer 492 

mentioned 484 

Dexter, David, 

appointed to act as brigade-major 56 

Dexter, John Singer, 

appointed assistant to the Adjutant-General 61 

mentioned 64 

DeWormser, , 

mentioned .' 90 

Dickinson, John, 

member of committee 537 

Diet, 

sick, to be prescribed by the Surgeon-General 417 

Dike, 

respecting, between Reedy Island and Listons Point, Pa 526 

Dimon, David, 

appointment of, as brigade-major confirmed 54 

Director (see Pay; Rations), 

and sub authorized for company of artificers 186 

bakers 281 

Director of Hospital (see Pay; Rations; Forage; Bacjgage Wagons; Land), 

in Virginia appointed 365 

authorized 384 

appointed 390 

to take the oath of office 390 

duties of 366, 383, 384, 385, 387, 388, 390 

letters, etc., to and from the, free of postage 394 

mentioned..... 386,392,397,399 

deputy, authorized -- 392 

appointed 394 

duties of 392 

(See Medical committee. ) 
Director-general, 

authorized 370 

appointed 373, 389 

duties of 370, 371, 373, 374, 376, 377, 378, 379, 380, 381, 382, 383 

mentioned 369,371,372 

deputy and assistant deputy authorized 370, 377 

appointed 374 

duties of 370, 371, 372, 373, 374, 

377, 378, 379, 380, 381, 383 
Director-general and chief physician, 

authorized 363 

appointed 364, 367 

duties of 363 

Disbursing officers, 

to make reports of moneys received and expended 200, 336, 408, 462, 578 

Discharge, 

respecting, of officers for misconduct 12, 17 

supernumerary staff officers. ... 14, 17, 46, 74, 175, 208, 379, 468, 586 

three months' pay allowed officers on 27, 47 

travel allowancesto officers on 47, 48 

order for, of certain staff officers recalled 74, 208, 413, 468, 469 

of supernumerary officers in barrackmaster's department 166 

State authoritiesempowered to, officers in commissary department 297 

respecting, of men in hospitals 418, 420 

drafted men 669 

minors 674 

of artillery artificers 563 

part of enlisted force of the Signal Corps 622 

Diseases (see Venereal diseases). 



INDEX. 725 

Dismissals, Page. 

Quartermaster-General empowered to make 150, 151 

of officers failing at examination 21 2, 347, 471, 591 

for improper use of ambulances 422 

Dispatches (.s«' Telkgraphic dispatches). 

District of Columbia, 

mentioned 512, 515, 516, 519, 523, 524, 525, 527, 602 

District Paymasters (.see Pay; Forage ), 

authorized 460, 461 

to give bonds 460, 461, 463 

duties of 460, 461 , 463, 465 

allowance to, for paying militia 466 

mentioned : 463 

assistant, authorized 462 

to give bonds 463 

Districts (see Enrollment Districts). 

Divisions {see Inspectors; Military Divisions), 

respecting staff of 45, 75, 79, 96, 106, 129, 151, 194, 203, 328, 420, 604, 633 

DoiGHTY, John, 

appointed brigade major 62 

Douglass, , 

mentioned 56 

Dow, Alexander, 

promoted captain in regiment of artillery artificers .559 

Draft, 

by whom made 668, 670, 677 

respecting exemptions from 672, 674 

enlistments in Southern States under a, how credited 677 

in districts may be made for double the number of men retjuired 677 

Draft animals, 

number of, limited 228, 229 

Drafted Men, 

may furnish substitutes or pay commutation money 669, 671, 679 

claims of, to exemption 669, 674 

allowed traveling pay 669 

furnishing substitutes to receive a certificate of discharge 670 

ma}' enlist in the Navy 671, 672 

allowed transportation in lieu of traveling pay 678 

to serve on desertion of their substitutes 680 

Dragoons (.see Horses), 

uniform of light 16 

respecting clothing for the 330, 332, .334 

Draper, George, 

appointed hospital physician and surgeon 389 

Drawing, 

a teacher of, to be attached to Corps of Engineers 497 

Drayton, Stephen, 

elected deputy quartermaster-general for the Southern Department 159 

Drayton, William Henry, 

member of committee 15, 283, 457 

Drew, Seth, 

to do duty of inspector 1 00 

Drovers, 

pay of, by whom regulated 262 

mentioned - 305 

Druggist, 

appointed 367 

Drum, Richard C, 

mentioned 52 

Drumheads, 

sheepskins and calf skins to be saved for 311, 562 

DuANK, James, 

member of committee - 14, 1 5, 87, 253, 488 

mentioned - 102, 127 

Duane, James (\, 

mentioned - 483 

Di' Barry, Beekman, 

mentioned 238 



726 INDEX. 

Du Cambray, , fage. 

annexed to Corps of Engineers with rank and pay of lientenant-eolonel. . 489 

granted leave for twelve months 494 

promoted to rank of colonel by brevet 495 

Duck, 

to be made up into tents ' 179, 181, 182 

Du CouDRAY, Philip Charles Jean Baptiste Tronson, 

appointed inspector-general of ordnance and military manufactories, with 

rank of major-general 548 

appointed inspector-general of ordnance and military stores 87 

mentioned ". 85, 87, 488, 534 

DULUTH, 

respecting harbor of 526 

Dunn, Isaac Budd, 

appointed brigade major 56 

to act as adjutant-general pro tempore 57 

mentioned 57 

Du Portail, Louis Le Begue, 

appointed colonel of engineers 487 

to take rank and command of all engineers heretofore appointed 487 

appointed brigadier-general '. 488 

to have rank of major-general 494 

granted leave of absence for six months 494 

having served with distinguished merit, has leave to retire fi'om service in 

the United States 495 

mentioned ... 483, 488, 489, 490, 491 

Dura NT, Thomas, 

pay and rations allowed to, as clerk ^ 244 

Duval, , 

appointed to act as brigade major 59 

Du Veil, , 

to be commissioned captain of sappers and miners 491 

Dyer, Alexander B., 

mentioned 534 

Dyer, Eliphalet, 

member of committee 283, 364 

Dyer, Thomas, 

to do duty as brigade major 55 

Dunn, William McK., 

mentioned 121 

E. 

Eagan, Charles P., 

mentioned 238 

Eastern Department, 

appointment in the, of officers of the department of issues 264, 269 

purchases 269 

Pay Department 446, 449 

Medical De2:)artment 374 

supervision of medical affairs in the 379 

Eastern States, 

respecting flour for the 288 

magazines of amnmnition to be formed in the 545 

Eaton, Amos B., 

mentioned 238 

Eayres, Joseph, 

excused from further service 561 

Edmonston, Samuel, 

promoted to rank of hospital physician and surgei 'ii 395 

Educational Division, 

of Bureau of Refugees and Freedmeii continued 661, 662 

Edwards, Thomas, 

elected judge-advocate 127 

api^ointment of, announced t(j the Army 127 

appointed deputy judge-advocate 125 

allowed additional pay 126 

mentioned 121 



INDEX. 727 

Elaboratory (sec Laboratory). Page. 

Election District, 

how construed for purposes of enrollment 676 

Ellery, William, 

member of conmiittee 247 

Elliott, Jame.^, 

appointed assistant geographer to the United States 494 

mentioned 494, 495 

Elliot and Williams (Messrs.) 

mentioned 328 

Ellsworth, Oliver, ' 

member of committee 14 

Embargo {see Exportation), 

on provisions in North Carolina 280 

general, on provisions, live stock, etc 286 

continued 289 

respecting exemptions from 289 

Embezzlement, 

means to prevent 149 

punishment for 1 177, 308, 383, 561 

Emerson, Moses, 

pay and rations allowed to, as storekeeper 244 

Emory, Richard, 

to do duty as brigade major 59 

Employees, 

pay of certain, in the department of issues 244 

Engineering Department {see Corps of Engineers), 

three companies established in the 489 

Engineer Commissioner, 

of District of Columbia may be detailed from Corps of Engineers 524 

water department to be under the 519 

Engineer of the Potomac Waterworks, 

office of, abolished; duties of, by whom performed 507 

Engineer officers {see Pay; Rations; Forage), 

detail of 500, 501, 502, 503, 504, 505, 506, 510, 614 

allowances to, superintending public works 503 

disbursing moneys on public works to receive no compensation therefor. . 503 
{See Topographical Engineers.) 

authorizeci - 496 

appointed. 486, 487, 488, 489, 490, 491 

authorized for the Southern Department 485 

no longer needed to be f urloughed 23 

not subject to extra-professional duty 498, 514 

in charge of Library building to receive active pay of his grade 526 

respecting appointment of, in authorized engineer regiments 527 

pay of, member of deep waterways commission 528 

Engineer soldiers {see Sappers and miners), 

companies of, added to Corps of Engineers 508, 509 

to form a battalion 510 

detail of, for signal duty 614, 616 

Engrossers, 

States to authorize seizure of goods, etc. , in hands of 273 

Enlisted men {see Pay; Clothing; Rations; Subsistence money), 

respecting purchase of articles of clothing by 16, 142 

extra pay to, detailed for quartermasters' uses 145 

on discharge to certain 47 

(see Detail; Blankets; Venereal disease.) 

respecting issue of rum to 310 

discharge of, in hospitals 418, 420 

enlisting for the war, to receive a suit of clothes 247 

authorized for the Hospital Corps 433, 434 

Ordnance Department - 583 

Signal Corps 613, 615, 617, 618, 623, 625, 626 

unitonn of, of the Ambulance Corps 422 

(.■>«' Prisoners of war.) 

respecting mode of payment to 476 

issue of tobacco to 35 

may wear badges of corps in which they served 36, 39, 43, 48 



728 INDEX. 

Enlisted men — Continued. Page. 

provisions of pension laws apply to, of the staff corps 208, 342, 413, 504, 586 

maimed, may receive artificial limbs 425, 432 

may be detailed in Bureau of Refugees and Freedmen 657 

serving in Arctic regions entitled to commutation of quarters 690 

Enrolling officers, 

authorized 668 

disabled in line of duty entitled to pensions 680 

Enrollment, 

boards of, how composed and their duties 668 

of men may be made by classes 668 

by classes repealed 672 

men exempt from 672 

resistance to, how punished 673 

foreigners not exempt from (574 

revised 678 

Enrollment districts, 

how constituted 667 

President to assign number of men to he furnished by _ 668 

Entrenching tools, 

agent authorized for purchase of 155 

to receive and care for, appointed 157 

Envelopes, 

special, for official business 38 

Equipments, 

to be provided for a body of horse _ 147 

the Southern army 563 

cost of repairs or damage to, against whom charged 580 

Erskine, Robert, 

may be appointed geographer and sui-veyor 448 

mentioned ^ 484, 492 

Erwing, John, 

appointed deputy c<jmmissary-genera] of issues 272 

Estimates, 

to be lodged at the war office 20 

made yearly for clothing and disbursements for same 319 

respecting, of hospital stores 384 

ordnance and ordnance stores 556 

Europe, 

United States agents in, to effect importation of calt 261 

EusTis, William, 

appointed hospital physician and surgeon ^ 389 

EvERSON, George, 

commissioned captain deputy commissary of military stores 550 

EwiNG, George, 

appointed commissary of hides 265 

mentioned 23§ 

Examination {see Medical board), 

officers under rank of brigadier-general subject to, before promotion 44 

of officers of the Quartermaster's Department 211 

Subsistence Department 346 

Medical Department 419, 429, 434, 436, 437 

Pay Department 470 

Corps of Engineers 509, 514, 525 

Signal Corps 623 

candidates for appointment as surgeon or mate - . 368 

assistant surgeon 411, 429 

promotion in the Hosj)ital Department. 396 

civilians for appointment as paymasters 477 

officers and men for signal duty 614, 616 

persons for position of hospital steward 433 

Exchanges, 

partial or pai-ole, disapproved 643 

respecting 644 

when may be made 644 

States retjuested to make no 645 

report of, to 1 )e made 647 

respecting, of marine prisoners 650 

President to make regulations for, of i)risoners of war 651 



INDEX. 729 

ExKCUTivK Mansion, Page, 

respecting extension of the 528 

KXKMPTION, 

States requested to grant, from militia duty in certain cases 277 

embargo 289 

persons entitled to, from draft '. 672 

claims to, from draft, how made 674 

fraudulent, from draft, how punished 674 

persons furnishing substitutes entitled to, from service 679 

E.\i:rcises, 

respecting system of military 89, 90, 92, 96 

JVXI'EDTTION, 

respecting proposed, against Detroit 157, 286 

Expenses, 

respecting reduction of army 14 

inquiry into, of the staff departments 17 

of witnesses before courts-martial, how paid 125 

for arrest of deserters, by whom paid 669 

E.XPERIMENTS, 

respecting, and tests of heavy ordnance 593 

Explorations, 

for a railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean 506 

Exportation {see Embargo), 

of salted provisions from New York forbidden 245 

produce, etc., for arms and ammunition authorized 536, 537, 539, 690 

ordnance and ordnance stores forbidden 573 

Expresses, 

Quartermaster-General to furnish all extraordinary 189 

Express rider, 

entitled to one wagon or two bathorses 172 

Extortioners {see Engrossers), 

States requested to authorize seizure of clothing held by 277 

Extra pay, 

to officers of the volunteer staff when discharged 47 

enlisted men of the Corps of Engineers 512 

men detailed for quartermasters' uses 145 

EvSANDEAr, WlLLI.\M, 

appointed to superintend the general military hospital 394 

F. 

Factories {see Gun Factories) . 
Fairweather Island, Conn., 

works on, mentioned 504 

Fanski, Adjutant, 

appointed to do duty as brigade-major pro tempore 60 

Farnesworth, Joseph, 

pay and rations allowed to, as commissary 245 

Fakkagut, David G., 

mentioned 614 

Favssoux, Peter, 

elected chief physician of the hospital 394 

mentioned 362 

Feather River, Cal., 

relative to improvement of the 526 

Fees, 

respecting, in claims for exemption from draft 675 

Fellows, John, 

mentioned - - 55, 56 

Few, William, 

member of d )mmittee 326, 457 

menti oned 1 90, 569 

Fikld artillery, 

guns for, to be purchased 544 

captured guns to be mounted if lit for 544 

respecting purchase of copper, etc., for casting brass 544 

Field conductor OF military stores (.s-e« Pay; Rations; For.\ge) , 

authorized 556, 560, 567 

duties of - 557,558 



730 INDEX. 

FiELn CONDUCTOR OF MILITARY STORES — Continued. Page. 

to be appointed to each brigade 559 

allowed one wagon or two bathorses 559, 568 

mentioned 565 

deputy, to call on issuing commissaries for sheejiskins 565 

FiNLEY, Clement A., 

mentioned 362 

Finney, William, 

appointed deputy quartermaster-general 143 

Fire, 

measures for avoidance of, in powder magazines 566, 567 

Firearms {see Arms; Muskets), 

continental factory of, mentioned 541 

Firelocks (see Muskets). 

Fish, Nicholas, 

appointed brigade major 55 

inspector 89 

to perform the duties ttf division inspector 96 

mentioned 96 

Fisher, Ben.jamin F., 

mentioned 611 

Flag of truce, 

sending of, by wlioui authorized 644 

Flagler, Daniel W., 

mentioned 534 

Flags, 

respecting, for regiments 143 

signal, by M^hom furnished 186 

Flekt, 

a surgeon to be appointed for the, fitting out on the lakes 367 

French, to be furnished with provisions 287 

mentioned 289 

Fleming, Edward, 

ajipointed deputy ad j utant-general 54 

Fleury, Lewis, 

appc)inted brigade major 59 

attached, on the march, to General Lee's division 60, 90 

to act as subinspector 89 

voted a silver medal 94 

sent as captain of engineers to General Washington 487 

promoted lieutenant-colonel 488 

mentioned 04, 100 

Flints, 

iini^ortation of, authorized 538 

employment of persons to manufacture, authorized 541 

imported, how distributed 54S, 546 

to be purchased 555 

Florida, 

rations for certain inhalutants of S41 

Flour (see Indian meal; Barrels), 

magazines of, to be established 157 

importation of, authorized 250, 278 

certain, to be baked into biscuits 264 

may be issued to the troojjs 267 

respecting distribution of cargoes of 271 

to be purchased 278, 280, 287 

respecting, for the Eastern States 288 

States requested to authorize seizure of, in hands of enijrossers 287 

furnish 303, 304 

furnished by States, how paid for 307 

part of, furnished by Maryland may lie retained in the State 310 

quotas of States to be furnished in 306, 31 2, 313 

when deliverable 314, 315, 316 

mentioned 291 

Flour barrels (see Barrels). 

Flower, Benjamin, 

elected commissary of military stores for the flying tami) 542 

to purchase 200 rifles and accouterments 547 



INDEX. 731 

Flower, Benjamin — Continued. Page. 

mentioned 164, 5.'>], 534, 5.50, 55:;, 554, 555, 559, 562, 564 

Flying c.\mp, 

assistant to deputy quartermaster-general to the, appointed 144 

medical officers appointed for the 366, 367 

deputy paymaster-treneral appointed for the 446 

commissary of military stores for the, appointed 542 

deputy muster master-general for the, authorized 633 

appointed 632 

Flying hospital, 

senior surgeon ap[)( >inted in the 382 

Fogg, Jeremiah, 

appointed brigade-major. 65 

continued in the office of brigade-major , 66 

Forage {f^ee Commissary of forage; Forage masters), 

money allowanc<^ for 18, 21, 

25, 27, 28, 67, 68, 70, 71, 103, 104, 106, 108, 128, 192, 199, 402, 406, 407, 458 

allowance to officers of the Adjutant-General's Department 57, 

63, 64, 65, 66, 71, 188, 189 

Iiispector-Cieneral's Department 94, 

95, 96, 102, 108, 188, 189 

Judge-Advocate-General's Department 124, 

126, 127, 129, 188, 189 

Quartermaster's Department 151, 

188, 189, 191, 196, 198, 199, 205, 206, 218, 224 
Commissary Department . . 188, 254, 296, 305, 308, 317 
Medical Department . . 189, 375, 388, 399, 400, 408, 411 

Pay Department 188, 454, 456, 458, 459, 463 

Ordnance Department 579 

muster department 634 

department of military stores 188, 552, 561, 568 

general and other officers 33, 40, 41, 42, 57, 63, 174, 187, 188, 189 

commissary of prisoners 189, 647, 651 

engineers 188, 189, 486 

geographer 189, 495 

provost-marshal 188 

State clothiers 296 

superintendent of bakers 318 

not allowed to officers absent exceeding six months 32 

when commutation ot, is allowed 33, 40 

in kind may be furnished 38, 40, 42, 220 

allowance of, to public horses 148, 167, 170, 187 

to be purchased - 155 

for the horses of the French minister 157, 164 

members of Congress 164, 179 

no -wheat to be ])urchased for 157, 288, 290 

how obtained in emergencies 159 

driver of public wagon entitled to 163 

quotas of States to be furnished in 1 66 

how paid for 166, 167 

how obtained for jmblic horses 170, 175 

detained horses 171 

magazines of. to I )e |irovided 179 

States to be requested to furnish 180 

issue of, to detachirients of sailors or marines 202, 223 

respecting, for officers serving east of the Mississippi River 227 

mentioned ' 176, 180, 209, 213 

Forage Master Genkral, 

to make return of all his assistants 165 

Forage Masters (.st'f I*ay; Rations), 

authorized 148, 169, 197, 206 

bv whom appointed 156, 201 

duties of 148, 149, 170 

allowance of_ forage to 197, 198, 206, 224 

su1)ject to military law 197 

names of, to be reported to board of war 150 

deranged in 1875, entitled to three months' pay 203 



782 INDEX. 

Forbes, James, Page. 

member of committee ] <>4, 300 

Ford, Jacob, jr., 

to manufacture saltpeter into gunpowder 540 

Ford's Theater, 

mentioned 525 

Foreigners, 

not exempt from draft 674 

FoUESTALLERS {sce ENGROSSERS), 

States requested to authorize seizure of goods, etc., held by 273 

Forges, 

conductors of military stores to have traveling 559 

all, in hands of conductors of military stores, how disjiosed of 568 

traveling cavalry, allowed ambulance corps of divisions 422 

FoRGUE, Francis, 

elected surgeon -general of hospital in Northern Department 374 

mentioned 361 

Forms, 

blank, of contracts, etc. , by whom furnished 686, 687 

Fort George, N. Y., 

hospital at, reserved for contagious diseases 368 

Fort Herkimer, N. Y., 

mentioned 571 

Fortifications (see Inspector of fortifications), 

armament of certain 571 , 572 

to be erected at Annapolis, Md 573 

respecting plan of necessary 500 

construction of temporary, in cases of emergency 526 

ports at which, are required to be reported 520, 601 

Fort Myer, Va., 

mentioned 620 

Fort Pitt, N. Y., 

proper magazines to be laid np in 324 

arms to be sent to 546, 547 

field conductor of military stores at, authorized 567 

Forts, 

tests of best stone, to resist heaviest guns 511 

construction of temporary, in cases of emergency 526 

FosDiCK, Thomas, 

appointed brigade-major 58 

Foster, Isaac, 

to take direction and superintendency of the general hospital 364 

elected deputy director-general of hospital in Eastern Department 374 

Foundries, 

examination to be made of certain 544 

respecting erection of a, for brass ordnance 551 

artillery artificer employed in 552 

to be visited when thought necessary 557 

Secretary of AVar to direct building and management of 565 

respecting establishment of 574 

manufacture of iron cannon at, how sui^erintended 586 

France, 

commissioners in, to forward uniforms, blankets, etc 251, 252 

disposition of clothing shipped from 322 

arms and militar}' stores shipped from 565 

Franking privilege, 

conferred on heads of bureaus; franked matter may l)e conveyed without 

indorsement or name of writer 34, 38 

exercised only by written autograph signatures. 36, 38 

to whom specifically granted 73, 111, 205, 340, 465 

abolished 38, 681 

"Franklin" (armed schooner), 

mentioned 541 

Franklin, Ben.iamin, 

member of committee 239, 535, 536, 537 

mentioned 488 

Frazek, John Gizzage, 

appointed assistant to th^ <>iuarlermaster-General 141 



INDEX. 733 

Fkazer, Persifor, Page. 

elected Clothier-General 297 

declined 297 

mentioned 238, 297 

Fkeedmen, 

provisions may be issued to destitute 655 

tracts of land for use of loyal 656 

all loyal, under care of Bureau of Eefugees and Freedmen 656 

measures in aid of 658 

certain buildings constructed for, may be sold 662 

mentioned 67i 

Freedmen's hospitals, 

to be continued at designated points - 662 

French, Samuel, 

commissioned major, commissary of military stores with the army 550 

mentioned 533 

French army, 

barrackmaster appointed to the 181 

French language, 

teacher of the, authorized 497 

French squadron {see Fleet). 

Freight charges, 

ordnance appropriations not to be used to pay 607 

Frontiers, 

ration increased for men servhig on the 329, 330 

Frost, George, 

member of committee 254 

Frothingham, Richard, 

appointment of, as field conunissary of military stores, confirmed 568 

mentioned 534 

Fry, James B., 

mentioned 665 

Fuel, 

officers absent exceeding six months not entitled to 32 

may be furnished 38, 40, 41, 220 

allowance of, or commutation for, prohibited _ 41 

to be issued to the troops 143 

who entitled to draw 183, 220 

in kind only to storekeepers in Quartermaster's Department 208 

respecting, for hospitals 376 

issues of, to destitute refugees and freedmen 655 

mentioned 37,209,213,643 

Funds {see Bounty fund; Contingent fund), 

respecting, for the Southern Department 158 

Department of Military Stores 551 , 557 

guards for safe conveyance of 184 

Furlough, 

officers on, not entitled to pay or forage beyond time grante<l 18 

no longer needed may be gianted 23 

of the Hospital Department on, not entitled to pay, etc 388, 400 

FuRMAN, Moore, 

mentioned 176 

Furnace, 

respecting enlargement of the, at Salisbury 543 

Fusees (.see Muskets). 

G. 

Gadsden, Christopher, 

member of committee 239, 536 

Gadsden, James, 

mentioned - - 52, 86 

Gales, Thomas, 

mentioned 121 

Galvan, , 

to be commissioned a major and employed as inspector 95 

appointed division inspector 100 

authority for employment of, in the inspectorship repealed 102 

Gambier, Admiral, 

mentioned 642 



734 INDEX. 

Gamble, James, Page, 

appointed deputy commi?sary-general 316 

Garapdeau, John Bohux, 

appointed deputy commissary -general of issues 265 

Gardens, 

vegetable, to be kept in hospital grounds 250, 368 

establishment of regimental, recommended 326 

Gardner, Charles K., 

mentioned - 52, 86 

Garrison equipage, 

Quartermaster-General to receive and distriV)ute all 204, 340 

Gates, Horatio, 

authorized to dismiss supernumerary staff officers in his command 14 

to appoint necessary staff officers for the Southern army 17 

chosen adjutant-general with rank of brigadier-general 53 

appointment announcea to the Army 63 

Congress desire that he resume the office of adjutant-general 57 

authorized to appoint a deputy adjutant-general for Northern Department. 57 

appointment by, of a deputy adjutant-general, confirmed, if made 58 

authorized to appoint a deputy adjutant-general for the Southern army . . 62 

ajipointment of a deputy judge-advocate by, confirmed, if made 124 

authorized to appoint a deputy paymaster-general for the Southern arm v- 454 
mentioned 3, 14, 51, 57, 59, 60, 61, 90, 175, 183, 248, 269, 272, 448, 542", 543, 648 

General officers [see Rations; Forage; Lands), 

uniform of 18 

allowed a 4-horse baggage wagon 172 

General Regulations {see Rechtlations), 

to be prepared defining duties of the general staff 27 

Geographers (see Pay; Rations; Forage), 

authorized 488 

appointed 492, 493 

to main army styled " Geographer of the United vStates of America" 493 

for main and Southern armies allowed one baggage wagon 495 

assistant, appointed 494 

mentioned '' 495 

George III, 

mentioned 12 

Georgetown, I). C, 

mentioned 511 

Georgia, 

uniform of the, line 15 

agent in, authorized for supplying clothing 264 

appointment of certain staff officers in, authorized 124, 152, 264, 448, 451, 635 

respecting certain staff officers in 158, 289, 290, 450, 452 

arms for the defense of 558 

Gerard, (French Minister), 

to be furnished horses and forage 157 

mentioned 489 

Gerry, Elbrige, 

member of committee 14, 253, 283 

Gibson, George, 

mentioned 140, 238 

Gibson, James, 

commissioned first lieutenant of artillery artificers 549 

Gilliland, James, 

to be commissioned captain-lieutenant of sappers and miners 491 

promoted to rank of captain 493 

<iiLMAN, John Taylor, 

member of committee 3i'6, 457 

mentioned 190, 569 

GiLMAN, Nicholas, 

appointed assistant to the Adjutant-Creneral 61 

Girardeau, T. B., 

resigned 291 

Glover, John, 

mentioned 58, 89 

Goddard, John, 

appointed wagon master general 141 



INDEX. 735 

Godfrey, Will. E., Page. 

commissioned captain-lieutenant of artillery 549 

excused from further service 561 

Goodwin, Wii-son, 

promoted to rank of hospital physician and surgeon 895 

GosTELOW, Jonathan, 

commissioned major, commissary of military stores 549 

mentioned 534 

Gould, David, 

mentioned 391 

Government Printing Office, 

building for the, to be constructed by Chief of Engineers 526, 528 

Grade, 

of captain in Adjutant-General's Department abolished 76 

Graduates, 

respecting appointment of, of dental colleges 438 

Grain, 

cargoes of, to be provided for army in Eastern Department 271 

respecting, in hands of engrossers 158, 289 

Grant, Ulysses S., 

mentioned 5 

Gratiot, Charles, 

mentioned - 483 

Graves {see Headstones). 
Gray, Ebenezer, 

appointed brigade-major 55 

Gray, James, 

appointed deijuty commissary-general of issues 290 

mentioned 316 

Gray, Samuel, 

pay and rations allowed to, as clerk and magazine keeper 244 

Gray, Samuel, 

appointed deputy commissary-general of issues for Eastern Department . . 265 
Great Kanawha River, West Virginia, 

respecting construction of bridge across the 522 

Greely, Adolphus W., 

mentioned 611 

Green and Barren River Navicjation Company, 

mentioned 521 

Green, Griffin, 

pay and rations allowed to, as clerk 244 

Greene, Nathaniel, 

appointed Quartermaster-General 156 

to retain his rank as major-general in the Army 156 

continued in office of Quartermaster-General 175 

to furnish his successor with complete returns of all officers and property 
of the Quartermaster's Department 176, 177 

mentioned 103, 140, 176, 179, 180, 183, 184, 399 

Gridley, Richard, 

conditionally continued chief engineer in the army at Cambridge 485 

to be considered as a retiring officer after January 1, 1781 492 

mentioned 483, 492, 545, 563 

Griffin, Samuel, 

elected deputy adjutant-general 55 

Grosvenor, Thomas, 

appointed to the duty of deputy adjutant-general 64 

subinspector 94 

Guam, 

respecting improvement of a harbor at 528 

Guards, 

to be provided for safe conveyance of money 184 

respecting, at hospitals 371 

Gulf coast, 

relative to erection of gun factories on the 524 

Gun factories, 

respecting erection of 524, 602 

GUNLOCK factory, 

at Trenton, N. J., mentioned 541 



736 INDEX. 

Gunpowder, Page. 

respecting exchange of, for deerskins 246 

importation of 536, 539 

amount of public, to be reported 536 

inspectors of, authorized 542 

appointed 542 

respecting, for use in proving cannon 540, 543 

imported, how disposed of 546 

purchase of, authorized 547, 555 

to be furnished to the Southern army 563 

exportation of, forbidden 573 

imported, to be free of duty 573 

Guns {see Muskets; Cannon; Ordnance), 

relative to tests of best stone forts to resist heaviest 511 

disposition of imported 565 

breech-loading, to be contracted for 602 

imported, to be free of duty 604 

mentioned 602, 604 

Gunsmiths, 

colonies requested to set their, at work making muskets 537, 543 

GusDON, Peter, 

appointed brigade major 55 

H. 

Hagan, Francis, 

appointed senior surgeon in the general hospital 383 

hospital physician and surgeon 389 

mentioned 395 

Haite, Nicholas, 

mentioned 548 

Half pay, 

granted to officers serving during the war 13, 15, 380, 390, 391 

extended to continue for life 453 

widows of officers 19, 24, 25, 26 

five years' full pay offered in lieu of 22 

lists of officers accepting, or commutation to be furnished their States 23 

for wounds or disability - 25 

officers accepting commutation of, mentioned 66, 495 

to officers of the Medical Department, how calculated 401 

Hall, C, 

to superintend hospital at Brunswick 380 

mentioned 380 

Hall, , 

member of committee 239, 246, 247, 365, 367, 536 

Halsted, John, 

appointment of, as commissary for army before Quebec, confirmed 243 

Hamilton, Alexander, 

mentioned 86 

Hammond, William A., 

mentioned - 362 

Hancock, Ebenezer, 

Elected deputy paymaster-general for the Eastern Department 446 

mentioned 449 

Hancock, John, 

mentioned 54 

Hand, Edward, 

elected Ad j utant-General 64 

continued in the office of Adjutant-General 65 

mentioned 51, 62, 95, 283 

Harbors, 

along water front of Washington and IJeorgetown to be examined 511 

{See Ice harbor.) 

improvement of, at Kewaunee, Wis 519 

surveys of 519, 522 

improvement of, at St. Augustine and Key West 522 

deep-water, between Points Duma and Capistrans 524 



INDEX. 737 

Harbors — Continued. rage. 

of refuge at Port Orford, Oreg 524 

inspection of safe deep, on coast of Texas 525 

deep-water, on the California coast 525 

of Superior and Duluth 526 

improvement of a, at (Tuam 528 

emergency appropriations for, liow expended 528 

H.\RD BREAD, 

effectual measures to l)e taken for supplying 821 

Ha RDM AN, Henry, 

appointed brigade major H2 

mentioned 62 

Hardy, William, 

elected paymaster for the North Carolina Light Horse 448 

Harmar, Josiah, 

appointed subinspector 94 

Harness, 

North Carolina requested to purchase leather and deerskins for 153 

Harper, John, 

to do the duty of brigade major 58 

Harpers Ferry, Va., 

pay of superintendent of the armory at 581 , 584 

office of superintendent of armory at, abolished .* 585 

Harrison, Benjamin, Jr., 

elected paymaster for troops in Virginia 446 

Harrison, Robert, 

appointed to muster Colonel Richardson's battalion 634 

Hartley, Thomas, 

mentioned 59 

Harvie, John, 

mentioned 282 

Haskell, Elnathon, 

appointed to act as brigade major 59 

Haskell, Jonathan, 

mentioned 51 , 86 

Hats, 

importation of, authorized 263 

returns to be made of men who have not received 326 

not to be purchased until old stock is exhausted 222 

Hawaiian Islands, 

actual expenses only allowed for travel to and from the 46 

pay of officers serving in the, increased 47 

Hawkins, John P., 

mentioned 238 

Hay, 

fjuotas of States to be furnished in 166 

how paid for 166 

ration of, for horses 170 

mentioned 167 

Hay, I'^dney, 

appointed brevet lieutenant-colonel and assistant deputy quartermaster- 
general 147 

not entitled to office or rank conferred under former arrangement of the 

Quartermaster' s Department 156 

Hays, Stock ley D., 

mentioned 121 

Hazen, ^Ioses, 

mentioned 61, 65, 66, 95 

Hazen, William B., 

mentioned 611 

Headstones, 

in national cemeteries, how marked 219, 221, 226 

authorized in private, village, or i-ity cemeteries 227 

Heard, Nathaniel, 

mentioned 55 

Heath, William, 

mentioned 53, 56, 64, 154, 642 

S. Doc. 229 47 



738 INDEX. 

Henderson, Alexander, Page. 

commissioned captain deputy commissary of military stores 550 

resigned 559 

Henley, David, 

appointed brigade major 53 

to do duty as brigade major 55 

appointed deputy adjutant-general 56 

mentioned 56 

Hennepin Canal, 

mentioned - 521 

Henry, , 

mentioned 648 

Henry, Patrick, 

member of committee 239, 536 

mentioned 286, 298, 555 

Henry, William, 

appointment of, as public armorer confirmed 554 

Herkins, William, 

pay and rations allowed to 245 

Hekriott, William, 

appointment of, as clerk in department of military stores confirmed 568 

Hewes, Joseph, 

member of committee 239, 247, 536, 540 

Heyward, Thomas, Jr., 

member of committee - 87, 365, 488 

Hickman, Ky., 

respecting location of bridge across Mississippi River at 522 

Hicks, Ben.iamin, 

continued in the office of brigade major 65 

Hides, 

care and treatment of ' 249, 261 

raw, may be exchanged for tanned leather 263 

respecting transportation of raw or unmanufactured 102 

issue of raw, for moccasins — 270 

regulations to be made for department of 285 

to whom delivered 291, 547 

how credited 307 

returns of, to whom made 321 

dried, to be imported 547 

Hiltzheimer, Jacob, 

to provide for horses belonging to members of Congress 164 

mentioned 179 

Hitchcock, Ly'man, 

to do duty as brigade major 59 

HoDCiDON, Samuel, 

appointed deputy commissary-general of military stores 559 

pay of 559 

elected commissary -general of military stores 565 

continued in that office 568 

mentioned - 140, 534 

HoFF, John, 

appointment of, as clerk in department of military stores confirmed 568 

Hoffman, Valentine, 

commissioned captain-lieutenant of artillery artificers 549 

HoLABiRD, Samuel B., 

mentioned 140 

Hollingsworth, Henry, 

suspended 1 J5 

mentioned 175 

Holt, Joseph, 

mentioned 121 

Homes {see Soldiers' Home; National Homes for Disabled Volunteers). 

Hoops, Robert, 

elected deputy commissary-general of issues • 264 

mentioned 265 

Hopkins, Gerard, 

appointed deputy quartermaster 147 



INDEX. 739 

Hopkins, Jared, Page. 

mentioned 153 

Hopkins, Mark, 

appointed brigade major 55 

Hopkins, S., 

mentioned 274 

Hopkins, Stephen, 

member of committee 239, 536, 538, 540 

HoKNS, 

of (tattle killed to be made into powder horns 1 42, 242, 538 

whom delivered 291 

HOKSK EQUIPAGE {seC EQUIPMENTS). 

Horse litters (set' Litters). 

Horses (.see Bathorses; Saddle horses; Forage), 

impressment of, authorized 142 

to be avoided as much as possible 146 

number of, in public stables to be reported 147 

purchase of, how made 150 

of members of Congress to be cared for 156, 164, 179 

authorized for use of French minister 157 

respecting pay for, killed in action 14, 16, 19, 21 , 24, 157 

wounded or captured 21 

payment of expenses of, of general officers 11 

cavalry, to be procured 180 

dragoon, to be sold 190 

number of draft, limited 228 

mentioned 145, 146, 150, 152, 155, 157, 167, 171, 179, 180, 202, 387 

Horse teams, 

respecting substitution ( )f ox teams for 158 

Horse yard, 

orders on, by whom given 171 

HORTON, AZARIAH, 

appointed deputy commissary-general of musters 635 

Hospital chaplains, 

entitled to draw clothing « 381 

authorize<l at each permanent hospital 418 

to be afforded necessary facilities 429 

Hospital commissaries, 

and assistants entitled to draw cl(jthing 381 

respecting orders from, for rations 382 

Hospital Corps, 

how constituted 433, 434 

Hospital Department {see Medical Department; Subsistence money; For- 
age), 

officers of the, entitled to benefits from Yorktown capitulation 19 

to be furnished transportation for removal of sick and wounded 179 

. appointment of officers in the 373, 374, 389, 390, 393, 394, 398 

respecting use of w^agons annexed to the 376 

regulations for the 377, 384, 385, 386, 387, 388, 389, 392, 393, 396, 397, 404, 405 

resolves of Congress relating to the, to be arranged 382 

officers of the, entitled to draw clothing 311 

not to be concerned in trade 388 

to take the oath of office 390 

vacancies in the, how filled - 395 

chief of, to transmit returns of property 401 

Hospital Director {see Director-General). 

Hospital physicians (set; Fay; Forage; Land), 

authorized - 384, 392 

appointment of 389, 394, 395 

duties of 385, 386,387, 389 

vacancies of, how filled - 395 

Hospitals {see Blankets; Gardens; Enlisted men; Wagons Flying Hos- 
pital), 

allowance for cutting wood for use of 190 

clothing to be issued to convalescents in 278 

respecting charges for treatment of secret diseases in 12, 376 

establishment of 363, 365, 368, 375, 383, 391, 405, 648 

respecting issue of provisions for 267, 306, 376 



740 INDEX. 

Hospitals — Continued. ^ ^ ,. . , ^J^^^' 

medicines to be provided for 363, 364, 365, 366, 367, 369 

antiscorbutics to be provided for use of the 368 

at Fort George for treatment of contagious diseases _ 368 

respecting inspections of - 101, 420 

appointment of officers for duty in, autliorized 363, 

368, 370, 371, 373, 374, 375, 377, 384, 404, 409 
officers appointed for duty in. . . . 363, 364, 365, 366, 367, 378, 389, 390, 392, 395, 398 

certain, to be visited 374, 376 

respecting assignment of officers of the 380 

erection of stoves in 376 

female nurses in, authorized 416, 430 

respecting diet for the sick in 417, 429, 430 

{See Providence Hospital; Columbia Hospital; Fkeedmen's Hospital, 
Hot Springs, Ark.) 

modern military, to be erected at Fort Leavenwortli 4.37 

noncombatants may be assigned to duty in ^ 674 

mentioned -H "> -123 

Hospital stewards {see Pay; Rations; Subsistence money; Clothing; For- 

'^Tuthorized .... 371, 384, 387, 392, 404, 407, 409, 414, 417, 424, 427, 429, 430, 433, 438 

duties of 396 

how appointed 396,404,414,424,427,430,433 

to take the oath of office - 390 

in service one year entitled to clothing SSI- 
number of, reduced 436 

reduction of number of, suspended 437 

mentioned 386,389,410 

Hospital stores, 

estimates of, to be submitted 384 

respecting transportation of 387 

in Virginia •■ 391 

Hospital surgeons (eS^-e Hospital physicians; Pay; Rations; Foracje), 

authorized -104, 409 

how appointed - - 397, 404, 407 

duties of ;108 

rank of, regulated 399 

authorized to be retained -109 

mentioned 373,398,407,410 

Hospital surgeon's mates {see Fax; Rations; Subsistence money), 

authorized 364, 365, 370, 371, 384, 404, 407, 409 

how appointed 368, 396 

duties of ---- 386,398,408 

no appointments of, to be made to fill vacancies 395 

mentioned 366,372,386,395,410 

Hostlers (see Pay; Rations), 

allowed to hospitals 371 

Hot Springs, Ark., 

an army and navy hospital to be erected at 432 

How, Baxter, 

mentioned ^^'^ 

Howard, John F., 

member of committee 3-6, 457 

mentioned 1^0, 569 

Howard, Oliver ()., 

mentioned ""^^ 

Howe, Robert, 

mentioned l-"!' -^1 

Howe, Willl\m, 

mentioned "-l^ 

Howell, Jr., Joseph, 

mentioned -- '^'^'^ 

Howell, Richard, 

appointed brigade major 56 

elected judge-ad vo(;ate 1-' 

mentioned 1-1> 1-' 

Howitzers, „ 

to be contracted for C)45 



INDEX. 741 

HowLEY, RuirARD, Page. 

mentioned 565 

Hudson, Jonathan, 

elected paymaster in Baltimore 447 

excused therefrom by Congress 449 

Hudson Rivek, N. Y., 

respecting supplies for army on or near the 281 

hospital to be established for the army on the 368 

respecting obstructions in the 524 

mentioned 370 

Hughes, Messrs. Daniel and Samuel, 

contract to be made with, for 1,000 tons of cannon 542 

Hughes, Daniel, 

mentioned 554 

Hughes, Hugh, 

appointed assistant (juartermaster-general _ 143 

Hughes, Samuel, 

mentioned 554 

HuLiNG, John, 

appointed brigade inspector 89 

Hill, William, 

appointed brigade inspector 89 

Humphreys, Andrew A., 

mentioned 483 

Humphreys, Charles, 

member of committee 540 

Humphreys, Whitehead, 

mentioned 550 

Huntingdon, Samuel, 

member of committee 539, 540 

mentioned 145 

Huntington, Ebenezer, 

to assist the Adjutant-General 56 

Huntington, Jedediah, 

mentioned 58, 60 

HuTCHiNs, Thomas, 

appciinted geographer to the Southern Army 493 

mentioned 484, 495 

Huts, 

respecting erection of, for the troops .* 154 

Hyrxe, Edmund, 

elected deputy adjutant-general for the Southern Department 61 

I. 

Ice harbor, 

relative to, at St. Louis, Mo 519 

Illinois and Michigan Canal, 

mentioned 519, 521 

Illinois River, 

respecting improvement of the 528 

Illinois Territory, 

respecting pay of the general staff of, while in service 465 

Imbret, Jean Louis, 

to be employed as engineer 487 

Importation, 

respecting, of provisions 250, 278' 

clothing 251, 263 

salt 261, 271 

hides 263, 547 

arms, etc 536, 537, 539, 541, 543, 573 

leatl, flints, and tin 538 

Impressment, 

respecting, of carriages, horses, etc 142, 270 

provisions 155,158,268,277,289 

goods, etc. , in Philadelphia 159, 290 

articles of clothing 268, 275 

wagons, shallops, etc 270 

of t'arriages and horses to be avoided as much as possible 146 



742 INDEX. 

Indianapolis, Ind., Page, 

an arsenal to be established at 591 

Indianapolis Arsenal, 

mentioned 524 

Indian corn, 

to \)e purchased 251 

exportation of, prohibited 286 

quotas of States to be furnished in 166, 303 

how paid for 166 

Indian depredations, 

rations to be furnished Floridian suffers from 341 

Indian frontiers. (See Telegraph lines. ) 

Indian meal, 

to be issued in lieu of flour to prisoners of war 300, 645 

received from States in lieu of flour 316 

respecting trans})ortation of 279 

Indians, 

rations may be issued to, visiting posts 341, 687 

Infantry {see Light infantry), 

uniform of the 21 

respecting supernumerary junior lieutenants of 455, 650 

Ingalls, Rufus, 

mentioned 140 

Inglis, , 

appointed brigade inspector — 89 

Innis, James, 

elected judge-advocate - 126 

mentioned 121, 127 

Innoculation, 

to be discontinued 393 

Inspection, 

of magazines of provisions 87, 253 

plan of - - 90, 100 

Secretary of War to report most eligible plan of 103 

of vessels for Quartermaster's Department, by whom made 216 

respecting, of unserviceable stores Ill 

the Quartermaster's Department 217 

Subsistence Department 348 

arms before issue 539 

drafted men 669 

Inspector of cattle, 

authorized 288, 325 

duties of 288 

Inspector of contracts, 

authorized 185,323,398,566 

appointed 103, 324 

to take the oath of office 323 

Inspector-General (.te^; Rank; Pay; Forage; Baggage wagons; Bathorses), 

authorized 92, 96, 100, 105, 106, 110, 112, 116 

appointed 88, 89 

duties of 87, 88, 90, 91, 92, 93, 96, 97, 98, 100, 101, 113, 114, 115, 183, 322 

to receive the journals of Congress 99 

letters, etc. , to and from the, free of postage 109, 11 1 

how selected 109 

{see Adjutant and Inspector-General. ) 

of ordnance, etc. , appointed 87, 548 

of cavalry appointed 87 

{see Medical Inspector-General.) 

office of one, abolished Ill 

abolition of office of one, repealed Ill 

volunteer, may be continued in service - - 117 

mentioned 111> 311 

assistant authorized 63, 96, 105, 112, 397, 565 

duties of 63, 97, 98, 100, 101 

may be performed by assistant adjutants-general _ 111 

to perform duties of adjutants-general 63, 97, 105 

not to lose rank — the line 108 

to be taken from the line 109 



INDEX. 743 

Inspector-General — Continued. Page. 

assistant to be attached to each army corps 112, 116 

deputy, authorized 106,' 109 

ei-otiicio deputy adjutant-general 69, 107 

assistant, authorized 109 

Inspector-General's Department, 

how constitute! 89, 100, 109, 113, 114, 115, 117 

necessary books and paper to be furnished the 179 

mustering duty to be performed by officei^ of the 95 

no appointments or promotions to be made in the 112 

appointments in the, how made 115 

vacancies in the, how filled 116, 117, 1 18 

respecting details for duty in the 117, 118 

Inspectors {sef. Pay; Rations; Forage; Baggage wagons; Bathorses), 

authorized 89, 96, 100, 103, 104, 106 

how appointed 90, 96, 105, 106 

appointed 90, 92, 94, 95, 96, 100, 103 

duties of 63, 90, 91, 92, 93, 97, 98, 100, 101, 102 

to act as adjutants-general 60, 63, 66, 67, 90, 104 

of a separate army, allowed an assistant 102 

letters to and from the, of the Army free of postage 108 

(see Medical Inspectors. ) 

to perform duties of mustering officers 636 

of public property, punishable for neglect of duty, etc, 215 

office of, discontinued ." 103 

assistant, authorized - 105, 106, 108 

to be deputy adjutants-general 105 

retain place in the line 106, 108 

subassistant, authorized 93, 96, 108 

how appointed 96 

appointed 89, 94, 95, 99 

duties of 63, 97, 98 

of fortifications 496 

light-houses 505 

gunpowder 542 

pay of, of ordnance 585 

Intrenching tools, 

measures to prevent loss of. _ 149 

agent appointed for care of all 157 

Invalids (see Retired list), 

disabled officers to be placed on lists of 24, 25 

surgeon appointed to regiment of 390 

Inventions {see Patents), 

board to examine all, in heavy ordnance, etc .* 519 

no expenditure allowed for perfecting, by officers of the Army 594 

Invoices, 

respecting, of imported clothing 253 

goods, etc. , taken from Philadelphia 287 

Irish, Nathaniel, 

commissioned captain of artillery artificers 549 

Ikon, 

conduct of experiments in testing 513 

Ij;o.\' Company Canal, 

nu'iitioned 521 

Ikon works (se<; Salisbury iron works; Andover iron works). 

Irvine, Callender, 

mentioned 238 

Irwin, Matthew, 

elected deputy commissary-general of issues 263 

declined apix)intment 264 

mentioned 264 

Issues, 

of quartermaster stores to members of Congress discontinued 166, 306 

respecting, of arms and military stores in camp 559 

Isthmus op Darien, 

mentioned 506 

Isthmus of Panama, 

respecting investigation of the ! 528 



744 INDEX. 

J. 

Jackets, i'Age. 

uniform, not to ])e pun^hased until old stock is exhausted 222 

Jackson, , 

mentioned 125 

Jackson, David, 

appointed hospital ])hysician and surgeon 389 

mentioned 395 

James, Thomas, 

mentioned - - 548 

Jay, John, 

member of committee 364 

Jenifer, D., of St. Thomas, 

member of committee 104, 299 

Jenifer, Daniel, 

promoted to rank of hospital physician and surgeon 395 

Jervais, John Lewis, 

appointed deputy paymaster of South Carolina 452 

mentioned 452 

Jesup, Thomas S., 

mentioned 140 

Johnson, Francis, 

elected commissary of prisoners 641 

mentioned 637, 641 

Johnson, Robert, 

elected hospital physician 394 

to do the duty of purveyor for military hospital in the Southern depart- 
ment - 395 

Johnson, Thomas, 

member of committee 239, 246, 367, 535, 536 

Johnson, Thomas, 

requested to have military stores at Annapolis removed to Frederick and 

those at Baltimore to Carlisle 546 

Johnson, William, 

to do duty as brigade-major 57 

Johnston, Joseph E., 

mentioned 140 

Johonot, William, 

elected assistant apothecary 389 

Jones, Roger, 

allowed pav of his commission as Adjutant-General from 1821 to March 7, 

1825... 1 75 

mentioned 52 

Jones, Roger' 

mentioned 86 

Jones, Thomas, 

sheepskins for use of artillery to be delivered on application to 322, 565 

Jones, Walter, 

elected physician-general of hospital in Middle Department 373 

declined appointment 375 

mentioned 361, 375 

Jordan, John, 

commissioned captain-lieutenant of artillery artificers 549 

promoted captain 554 

mentioned 563 

Journals of Congress, 

to be furnished the Adjutant-General 63 

Inspector-General 99 

respecting extracts from the, relative to commissary and clothiers' depart- 
ments 286 

Judge-Advocatks (fiee Pay; Rank; Rations; Forage), 

authorized 124,128,129,130,132,135 

appointed , . ., 123,124,125 127 

to countersign copies of Articles of War 123 

prosecute in tlie name of the United States 123, 128 

appointment of, announced to the Army 123, 1 27 

(/SVf Depositions; Writs; Witnesses.) 

how appointed l*^"^ 



, INDEX. 745 

Judge-Advocates — Continued. Page. 

duties of 125, 128, 129, 130, 132, 133, 134 

entitled to one wagon or two l^athorses 126, 127, 187 

deputy, how appointed 1 27 

number of, limited 132 

[See SniRra; Linen.) 

corps of, mergetl into Judge- Advocate-General' r^ Department 133 

authorized on staff of army corps 134 

continued in service - 135 

acting, may be detailed 135, 136 

status of, as to tenure of office 131 

mentioned 129,131,134 

Judge-Advocate's Department, 

resolves of Congress relative to the, repealed 127 

Judge-Advoc.\te-General {see'RASK; Pay; Baggage wagons; Bathorses), 

authorized 130,131,132,133 

duties of : 123,130,131,132,133 

(see Bureau of Military Justice.) 

ex-offido commissioner of the Soldiers' Home 133 

mentioned - 124, 132 

assistant, authorized - 131 

deputy, appointed 124 

Jury duty, 

workmen in armories exempted from 576 

Judge-Advocate-Generai-'s Department, 

how constituted - 133, 134, 135 

promotions in the, how made 134 

respecting chief of the - 136 

chief of the, how selected 136 

vacancies in the, how filled 136 

K. 

Kelton, John C, 

mentioned 52 

Kemper, , 

mentioned 292 

Kermovan, John, 

appointed engineer to the Continental service 486 

Kettles, 

to be procured - 145 

sent to Southern Army 318 

incased 180 

supplied to soldiers without cost - 687 

Kewaunee, Wis., 

improvement of harbor at - 519 

Key West, Fla., 

improvement of harbor at 522 

Kirby, E., 

mentioned 52 

Kirkpatrick, , 

appointed I'aptain-lieuteiiant in the corps of sappers and miners 493 

Klein, David, 

appointed deputy commissary of prisoners 641 

Knox, Henry, 

mentioned ^'^, 549, 559, 568 

Kosciuszko, Thaddeus, 

appointed engineer in the service of United States 487 

li. 

Laboratory, 

establishment of : 545, 547, 562 

Secretarv of War to direct building and management of 565 

mentioned '- 548, 557, 564, 565 

Laboratory artillerymen, 

respecting company of 550 

Laborers, 

necessary, in Quartermaster's Department authorized 167, 198, 201 

by whom appointed 1*^9, 198 



746 INDEX. 

Laborers — Continued. Page. 

occasional, authorized in hospital department 363, 369 

in Ordnance Department authorized 579, 596 

status respecting bounty laws, etc 586 

to be designated privates of the second class. . 591, 596 
La Crosse, Wis., 

construction of a bridge at, across the Mississippi River 512 

Lake Erie, 

bridging channel between, and Lake Huron 512 

canal route from, to the Ohio River 526 

Lake George, N. Y., 

mentioned 366 

Lake Huron, 

relative to bridging channel between, and Lake Erie 512 

Lake Michigan, 

mentioned 521 

Lakes, 

respecting supply of army on the 246 

storm signals on the northern 614 

surgeon appointed for fleet fitting out on the 367 

sites for light-houses, etc., on the northwestern, to be determined by the 

Topographical Bureau 505 

deep waterways between the Great, and the Atlantic 526 

Lake Samamish, 

mentioned 524 

Lake Superior Ship Canal Railway, 

mentioned 521 

Lake Union, 

mentioned - 524 

Lake Washington, 

mentioned 524 

Lancaster, Pa., 

factory of firearms at, mentioned 541 

respecting escape of prisoners of war at 650 

Landings, 

along water front of Washington and Georgetown to be examined 511 

Lands, 

grant of, for service in Revolutionary war 11, 389 

not granted to claimants under an assignment 11 

provisions granting, extended to general officers 19 

officers of hospital department 389 

assignment of tracts of, to refugees or f reedmen 656, 657 

respecting, held by the late Confederate States 658 

Langdon, John, 

member of committee 239, 240, 536, 537 

mentioned - 54,142,242,540 

Lanterns, 

style of, for use in powder magazines 567 

Larned, Benjamin F., 

mentioned 443 

Latimer, Henrv, 

appointed senior surgeon in the flying hospital 382 

hospital physician and surgeon 389 

Laurens, John, 

member of committee ■'^'^l V- 

mentioned 322, 565 

Lawrence, Jonathan, 

appointed captain in the corps of sappers and miners 493 

Lawrence, John, 

appointed judge-advocate 124 

pay and allowances of, established 124 

resignation accepted 126 

mentioned 121, 126 

Lawson, John, 

to do duty as brigade-major 59 

Lawson, Thomas, 

mentioned 362 



INDEX. 747 

Lead, Page. 

inquiry to be made respecting virgin and lead ores 536 

importation of, authorized 538 

imported, how disposed of 543 

to be furnished the Southern army 563 

exportation of, prohibited 573 

imported, to be free of duty 573 

surplus pig, to be sold 594 

Leaden spouts, 

in Philadelphia, to be taken down for laboratory 548 

Lead mines, 

respecting, at New Canaan, N. Y 539 

in Maryland _ 548 

Colonies requested to report condition of 541 

in State of New York to be worked 549 

prisoners of war may be furnished for Mork in New York 641 

Learned, Ebenezer, 

mentioned 62, 89 

Leases, 

respecting, of lands in the Southern States 657, 658 

Leather {see Hides; Deerskins), 

purchase of, authorized 153, 274, 300 

raw hides may be exchanged for 263 

mentioned 547 

Leather manufactory, 

mentioned 549 

Leave of absence, 

respecting officers on, exceeding six months 32 

granted extra territorially, when to commence and terminate 48 

officers of Hospital Department on, not entitled to rations, etc 388, 400 

on, to receive only half pay if not sick or wounded 681 

nurses may be granted 439 

length of, without reduction of pay 38, 682, 683 

Le Baron, Francis, 

mentioned 362 

Ledyard, Isaac, 

elected assistant purveyor 389 

Lee, Charles, 

mentioned 56, 60, 90, 304 

Lee, Francis Lightfoot, 

member of committee 272, 283, 535, 539 

Lee, John F., 

mentioned 121 

Lee, Richard Henry, 

member of committee 246, 253, 544 

Lee, William, 

recominended bj' Congress for appointment of Adjutant-General 57 

Lee, William R., 

to do duty as brigade-major 56 

"Le Tier Roderique" (ship), 

mentioned 286, 555 

L'Enfant, Pierre Charles, 

appointed captain in the Corps of Engineers 490 

promoted to rank of major by brevet 495 

mentioned 490 , 495 

Leonard, Nathaniel, 

mentioned 383 

Letters {see Franking privilege), 

to army in Mexico free of postage 31 

official , t( ) heads of bureaus free of postage 38 

free of postage to and from the Adjutant-General 71, 72, 73 

inspector of the Arm v 108 

General. . /. 109, 111 

Quartermaster-General 183, 197, 201 , 205 

Commissary-General 335, 339, 340 

director of hospital 394 

physician-general 408 

apothecary-general 408 



748 INDEX. 

Letters — Continued. Page. 

free of postage to and from the Surgeon-General 408, 412 

Paymaster-General 465 

Chief of Engineers 502 

Topographical Engineers 502 

Commissary-General of Ordnance 579 

Chief of Ordnance 584 

Lewis, Andrew, 

, mentioned _ 57 

Lewis, Morgan, 

appointed deputy quartermaster-general 144 

elected deputy quartermaster-general 144 

mentioned 140 

Lewis, Francis, 

member of committee 240, 241, 863, 364 

mentioned 142 

Lewis, William, 

appointed brigade inspector 89 

Library {see Washington Public Library). 

Library op Congress, 

construction of the, under Chief of Engineers 523 

privilege of the, granted to Chief of Engineers 524 

mentioned 525, 526 

LlEBER, GuiDo N., 

mentioned .* 121 

Light artillery, 

respecting clothing for the 334 

Light boats, 

sites for, to be determined by Topographical Bureau 505 

Light dragoons, 

uniform of the 16 

respecting clothing for the 334 

Light-House Board, 

how constituted in part 505 

mentioned 505 

Light-house inspectors, 

respecting detail of officers as 505 

Light-houses, 

sites for, to be determined by Topographical Bureau 505, 506 

construction and renovation of, under superintendence of engineer offi- 
cers 505, 506 

plans for certain, to be approved by Topographical Bureau 505 

Light infantry, 

uniform of the 1 S, 19, 22 

Lincoln, Abraham, 

repairs to house in which President, died 528 

Lincoln, Benjamin, 

mentioned 91, 100 

Linen, 

care of, purchased for the Army 142 

fit for tents, how disposed of 148 

to be imported • 263 

respecting, for sick in hospitals 277, 376 

distribution of small supply of 304, 382, 446, 447, 491 

Lint, 

to be imported 365 

LipPET, Christopher, 

mentioned 56 

Liston's Point, Pa., 

respecting dike between, and Reedy Island 526 

Litters, 

to be provided 372 

horse and mule, authorized 421 

Little Rock Arsenal, 

respecting pay of military storekeeper at the 587 

Live stock {sec Cattle), 

allowances to agents purchasing 269 

pay, etc., of sujierintendent of 317 

purchased, how deliverable 317 



INDEX. 749 

Livingston, , Page. 

iiieniber of committee 537, 539 

Livingston, — , 

mentioned 544 

Livingston, , 

to do duty as brigade-major 55 

Livingston, , 

mentioned .' tiO 

Livingston, Robert R., 

mentioned 54, 242 

Livingston, Walter, 

cliosen for commissar\- of stores and provisions for tiie New York Depart- 
ment " 239 

Livingston, William, 

mentioned 176 

Lockhart, Patrick, 

to procure pack horses and provisions for expedition against Detroit 157, 286 

Long, Nicholas, 

appointed dejuity quartermaster-general 143 

to have rank of colonel 143 

Long, Stephen H., • 

mentioned 484 

Low, Simeon, 

appointed assistant adjutant-general 66 

Lons XVIII, 

mentioned 500 

Louis Philippe, 

mentioned 500 

Louisiana, 

recruiting officers not to be sent into 677 

Louisville, Kv., 

quartermaster's depot at, mentioned 217 

Louisville and Portland Canal, 

mentioned 524 

Lovell, James, 

member of committee 87 

Lovell, Joseph, 

mentioned ■)62 

LowRY, Thomas, 

appointed to supply rations to New Jersey Imttalions 242 

Ludington, Marshall J., 

mentioned 1-40 

Ludwig, Christopher, 

appointed superintendent of bakers 253 

continued in that office 318 

compensation of, for past services 318 

LuKENs, Charles, 

commissioned major-commissary of military stores at Carlisle 549 

jiay of 549 

excused from further service 561 

mentioned -534 

Lutterloh, Henry Emanuel, 

appointed deputy quartermaster-general 152 

commissary of forage 1 "9 

Lrx, Darby, 

mentioned 548 

Lyman, Daniel, 

appointed brigade-major 56 

Lynch, Thomas, 

member of committee 364 

mentioned - 243 

M. 

]»I(('lure, , 

mentioned 59 

M'CooMB, John, 

autli(jrized to act as quartermaster at Princeton 152 



750 INDEX. 

McCk)RMiCK, Henry, Page. 

appointed brigade major 59 

to do the duty of brigade major 62 

appointed brigade inspector 94 

McDouGALL, Alexander, 

mentioned 55, 95, 632 

McGowAN, John, , 

to do the duty of brigade major 59, 62 

appointed brigade inspector 89 

mentioned 60 

McHenry, James, 

mentioned 4 

McHenry, James, 

mentioned - 367 

McIntosh, Lachlan, 

mentioned 59, 89 

McKallister, John, 

mentioned 263 

McKean, Thomas, 

member of committee 247, 537 

mentioned 297 

McKnight, Charles, 

elected surgeon-general for the hospital in middle department 378 

chief hospital physician 389 

mentioned 361 

McLean, Nathaniel H., 

appointment of, in the Adjutant-General's Department, or his reinstate- 
ment and retirement authorized 78 

McLinney, , 

to act as brigade major 60 

McWiLLiAMs, William, 

to do duty as brigade major - 56 

McFeely, Robert, 

mentioned 238 

Mackay, Eneas, 

mentioned 248 

Mackenzie, Samuel, 

mentioned 370 

Macomb, Alexander, 

mentioned 52, 483 

Magazines, 

certain, to be inspected 87, 253 

barracks, etc. , to be erected at principal 152, 259 

of provisions to be established 157, 245, 250, 279, 280, 288, 291, 310, 316, 324 

North Carolina to furnish, of forage 179 

Secretary of War to direct building and management of 184, 565 

of military stores to be established , 541, 544, 545, 547, 572 

inspected 564 

duties of keepers of, and arsenals 580 

mentioned 180, 244, 245, 251, 279, 544, 563, 570, 578 

Maiming, 

Freedmen's Bureau to prohibit, as a punishment 659 

Malcolm, William, 

appointed deputy adjutant-general in northern department 60 

permitted to hold his rank in the Army and his regiment 61 

mentioned 59, 493 

Malt liquor, 

may be issued in lieu of rum, whisky, or brandy 333 

Manchester, 

mentioned 571 

Maneuvers, 

respecting system of 89, 90, 91, 92, 96 

troops to be instructed in 87, 90 

Manufactory, 

of tire arms at Lancaster, Pa. , mentioned 541 

respecting establishment of a, of fire arms 555 

allowances to superintendent of certain, of arms 581 



INDEX. 751 

INI A PS, Page. 

surplus, of the Signal Office may be sold 615, 616 

IVIarchant, Henry, 

member of committee 254 

Marcy, Randolph B., 

mentioned 86 

Marine agent, 

to appoint a commissary for marine prisoners 650 

mentioned 495 

Marine committee, 

to regulate issue of provisions to the French squadron 287 

aid the Commissary-General to fulfill certain engagements 300 

be applied to for use of Government vessels. 540 

control exchange of marine prisoners 644, 650 

Marine Corps, 

respecting enlistment of drafted men in the 672 

issue of provisions to detachments of 337 

Mariaxna, Fla., 

mentioned -__ 501 

Marmie, Turnbull & Co., 

mentioned 327 

"Marquis of Kildare" (brig), 

mentioned 146, 248, 543 

Marselis, Gysbert, 

appointment of, as barrack master confirmed 143 ■ 

Marshall, Elihu, 

to act as brigade-major 60 

Marshall, John, 

appointed deputy judge-advocate 124 

Martin, , 

accepted commutation in lieu of half pay 401 

Marvin, Elihu, 

appointed brigade-major pro tem 59 

Maryland, 

uniform of the, line 15 

requested to seize provisions, etc., in hands of engrossers 158, 289 

provide guards for certain prisoners of war 649 

not to grant exceptions from embargo 289 

quota of, to be furnished in forage 166 

how paid for 166 

provisions, etc 306, 313 

when deliverable 315 

t( ) furnish flour and Indian com 303 

cattle 311 

part of flour furnished by, may be retained in the State 310 

respecting mode of obtaining saltpeter from tobacco houses in 538 

removal of certain military stores in 546 

lead mine in 548 

mentioned 264,271,279,280,287,545 

Mason, David, 

excused from further service 560 

Massachusetts, 

uniform of the, line 15 

establishment of magazines of provisions in 157 

mentioned 322, 636 

Massachusetts Bay', 

requested to seize certain clothing 277 

board of war of, requested to import flour and provide vessels 278 

quota of, to be furnished in provisions 306, 312 

how paid for 307 

when deliverable 314 

to furnish cattle 310, 311 

requested to collect saltpeter and brimstone 535 

report condition of lead mines 541 

respecting erection of magazine and laboratory in 545, 547 

removal of prisoners of war in 642 

mentioned - 123,240,271 



752 INDEX. 

Massenbach, , Psvge. 

elected engineer f Dr Southern Department 485 

Massey, William, 

appointed deputy luuster-niaster-general for South CaroUna and Georgia. 835 

Master armorers {see Pay) , 

authorized 572, 598 

how appointed 572 

to be designated as sergeants 596 

Mates {see Surgeon's mates; Hospital mates; Apothecary's mates). 

Matrons {see Pay; Rations), 

authorized 371, 384, 3^2 

by whom appointed 372, 387, 391 

Mattack, Timothy, 

to be employed as storekeeper , 142 

Matthews, John, 

member of committee !•!, 17, 286 

mentioned 17, 157, 394 

Maumee Valley Monumental Association, 

mentioned 522 

Maus, Matthew, 

mentioned 390 

Maxwell, William, 

mentioned 59, 60, 89, 95 

Mead, Israel, 

pay and rations allowed to, as clerk 244 

Meal {see Indian meal). 

Measam, George, 

continued in office of superintendent of commissary of stores for the 

Northern Army; pay of 246 

elected commissary of clothing for the Northern Army; allowed pay and 

rations of a major 248 

Mease, James, 

to deliver to the quartermaster-general all the cloth fit for tents 148 

appointed commissary to supply the Pennsylvania battalions 243 

to purchase nece.ssary articles for approaching winter 249, 250 

hats and caps and employ tailors 250 

appointed clothier-general 252 

mentioned 145,238,247,253,288 

Mease and Caldwell, (Messrs.), 

mentioned 246 

Meat, 

agents to jiurchase, east of the Susquehanna 280 

Mechanics, 

necessary, i n Quartermaster' s Department authorized 201 

Medical attendance, 

nurses entitled to 439 

respecting, to families of officers and men 433 

Medical boards, 

authorized 396,405,419 

duties of 396,397,398,405 

mentionetl 418 

Medical cadets, 

authorized -116, 417 

duties of 416 

to have rank and pay of West Point cadets 416 

Medical commitfee, 

to supply director of hospital with medicines 366 

increased ^ 366 

to forward medicines, etc. , to indicated points 367, 369 

purchase medicines 367 

provide antiscorbutics for the hospitals 368 

provide accommodation for the sick 369 

employ agents in each State to purchase medicines 370 

resolution relative to Medical Department recommitted to the 381 

to revise regulations relating to the hospital deimrtment 382 

take measures for carrying on business of the Medical Dei)artnicnt 383 

give directions for establishing a hospital in Virginia 391 



INDEX. 758 

Medical committee — Continued. Vuge. 

discontinued; returns and papers of the, to be lodged with the liojird of 

war 394 

reports of 375, 383 

Medical Department {see Hospital Department; Hospital Corps), 

inquiry to be made into abuses in the 368 

how constituted 410, 423, 427, 429, 437 

increased 411, 413, 414, 416, 417, 418, 419, 433, 436 

officers of the, not to be concerned in trade 388 

respecting vacancies in the 414, 428 

(see National Homes for Disabled Volunteers; Soldiers' Home. ) 

nurse corps attached to the 439 

mentioned 394, 397, 401, 407, 408, 412, 428, 429, 435, 436, 455 

Medical director, 

duties of, of army corps 420 

respecting, of armies in the field 423 

Medical inspector-general, 

authorized 417 

how appointed 417 

duties of 417, 418 

Medical inspectors, 

authorized 417, 419 

how appointed 417, 419 

duties of - 4 1 7, -J 1 8, 420 

mentioned 418 

Medical officers {see Surgeons), 

duties of chief, of army corps 420 

respecting pensions to, who served in the Revolutionary war 409 

captured, who have charge of sick prisoners 394 

entitled to one additional ration for every five years' service 412 

to unite with line officers in supervising cooking 420 

a, to report upon epidemic cholera 427 

not entitled to command by virtue of their rank 413, 429 

to rank according to date of commission 433 

attend families of officers and men 433 

regulating grades of certain 434 

respecting assignment of - 435 

number of, increased 436 

mentioned - 423 

Medical property, 

accounts to be taken of - 398 

Medical purveyors {see Pay, Rations, Forage Land), 

authorized 38^,404,423,429 

how appointed 388, 404 

appointed - 389 

to take the oath of office 390 

duties of 385, 386, 387, 390, 391 , 397, 404, 417, 418, 429 

to give bonds 419, 423, 430 

undergo examination 424 

may be assigned to duty as surgeons 429 

mentioned - 384 

deputy, authorized 392 

appointed - 39.3,395,398 

duties of 392 

assistant, appointed 395 

]Medical staff, 

extended - 409 

brigade surgeons attached to the 419 

Medical storekeepers {see Pay), 

authorized 418 

to give bonds - 418, 419 

abolished 428 

Medical stores {see Medicines), 

to be inspected - - - 365 

druggist appointed in Philadelphia to receive all 367 

respecting removal of - 369, 376 

loss of or damage to, how punished 383 

S. Doe. 229 48 



754 INDEX. 

Medical Stores — Continued. i'»&e. 

all, not necessary to be sold 400 

respecting accountability for 377 

returns of all, to be made 401 

respecting issue of, to destitute refugees or freedmen 657 

Medicines {see Peruvian bark), 

purchase of, authorized 240, 364, 365 

to be imported 365 

supplied , 365, 366 

provided 367, 369, 370, 380 

returns ot to be made 369, 399 

estimates of, required to be submitted 384 

all, in Virginia to be collected 391 

mentioned 404 

Medicine wagons, 

mentioned 421 

Mehelm, John, 

appointed commissary of hides 291 

mentioned 238 

Meigs, Montgomery C, 

placed in charge of construction of Pension building 227 

to superintend construction of Washington Aqueduct 507 

mentioned 140 

Melchior, , 

to dismiss certain of his deputies 163 

Memorial, 

on necessity of a corps of engineers, mentioned 495 

Memorial bridge, 

respecting a, from AVashingtou City to Arlington, Ya 526 

Memphis, Tenn., 

respecting construction of an arsenal at 584 

Meng, Wollory, 

commissioned captain superintendent of leather majiufactory 549 

captain in Colonel Flowers' s regiment 553 

Mentges, Francis, 

allowed additional compensation while acting as inspector of contra(-ts to 

the Southern army under General Greene's appointment 103 

mentioned 85, 103 

Mercer, James, 

member of committee 164, 299 

Mercury (ship), 

mentioned 252, 546 

Merlet, , 

mentioned - - 90 

Meteorological observations, 

at military posts, authorized 614, 616 

Mexican frontier, 

respecting telegraph lines on the 615 

Mexican War {see Badges), 

sappers and miners who served in the, entitled to discharge 504, 505 

status as to allowances of men of the Ordnance Department who served 
in the 586 

Mexico, 

letters, etc. , to army in, free of postage 31 

respecting care of cemetery near city of 221 

Miami River, Fla., 

respecting routes from, to the sea 528 

Michigan and Illinois Canal, 

mentioned 519 

Middle Department, 

respecting salt for troops in the 271 , 275 

importation of flour from the 278 

mentioned 54,373,374,375,378,449 

MiDDLETON, 

member of committee - - - 247, 363, 544 

Mifflin, Jonathan, 

appointed brigade-major - 55 

deputy quartermaster-general 152 



INDEX. 755 

Mifflin, Thomas, Page. 

member of committee 17, 535 

appointed Quartermaster-General 141 

conditionally 145 

requested by Congress to resume office of Quartermaster-General 145 

allowance to, for his service as Quartermaster-General 151 

given leave to repair to General Washington's headquarters 151, 156 

returned his commissions as major-general and Quartermaster-General . . . 153 
resignation accepted, but commission of major-general returned to him . . 153 

elected member of the Board of War 153 

directed to exercise duties of Quartermaster-General notwithstanding his 

resignation 153 

tendered his resignation 157 

resigned c 160 

mentioned 3, 17, 55, 90, 139, 140, 145, 146, 148, 152, 154, 160, 253 

Mileage ( see Traveling expenses), 

rate of 34, 35, 38, 41, 43, 44, 48, 434 

not legal in excess of actual ex|)enses 38 

when transportation requests are furnished 47 

how computed 685 

Miles, John, 

appointed brigade quartermaster 183 

Military Academy, 

Corps of Engineers to constitute a 497 

respecting superintendence of the 497 

how constituted 498 

Superintendent of the, how selected 510 

mentioned 230, 514 

Military agents (see Pay), 

and assistants authorized 195, 332 

office of, discontinued 197 

Military asylum (.see Soldiers' Home), 

Military departments (see Eastern, New York, Northern, and Southern 
departments), 

commissary of forage authorized for each of the 148 

duties of commanders of 151, 182, 375 

mentioned 190, 247, 273, 288, 371, 423, 485, 564 

Military divisions, 

mentioned 348 

Military jurisdiction, 

all persons in Freedmen's Bureau to be under 163, 283, 657 

Military prison, 

to be inspected 113, 114, 115 

surgeon detailed for duty at the 427 

Military societies {see Badges). 

Military storekeepers (.see Rank, Pay, Ordnance storekeepers), 

authorized in purchasing department 337, 339 

Quartermaster's Department 208, 210, 218, 231 

appointed 143 

to give bonds 208, 597 

grade of, in Quartermaster's Department, when to cease 222, 232 

Military supplies (see Ordnance stores), 

inspection of unserviceable, by whom made Ill, 204, 340, 410, 616 

means to prevent loss, etc. , of '. 149, 150 

respecting purchase of 196, 564 

sale of damaged, when to be made 204, 339, 410, 540, 616 

Secretary of War to control and supervise all 210, 336 

all surplus, to be sold 326 

returns of all, to be made 326, 33C 

respecting forms of returns and accounts of 336, 578 

Secretary of War to prescribe species and amounts of, to be purchased . . . 336 
respecting proceeds of sales of 505, 587 

Militia, 

inspectors to be appointed to the, when in service 96 

commission allowed on payments to the 466 

one paymaster allowed for two regiments of 467 

respecting purchase of arms from the 539 



756 INDEX. 

Militia — Continued. Page. 

arms to be provided for sale to the States 574 

mentioned 245, 285, 449, 463, 465, 548, 576 

Militia duty, 

respecting exemption from 547 

Miller, Charles, 

pay and rations allowed to, as storekeeper 244 

Mills {see Powder mills), 

flour barrels to be returned to the 275 

Mills, John, 

mentioned 51, 85 

Mines {see Lead mines; Symsbury mine). 
Minors, 

respecting discharge of - 674, 675 

MiNOTS Rock, Mass., 

works near, mentioned - 504 

Mississippi River, 

respecting road from the, to designated point in Arkansas 501 

railroad from the, to the Pacific Ocean 506 

construction of a bridge over the, at La Crosse, Wis 512 

survey of mouth of 513 

the, and its tributaries 513 

location of bridge across the, at Hickman, Ky 522 

bridge to St. Louis over the - 526 

channel through southwest pass of the 526, 528 

Mississippi River Commission, 

how constituted 518, 519 

Missouri, 

respecting construction of arsenals in 584 

Missouri River, 

respecting improvement of the, to Sioux City, Iowa 528 

Missouri River Commission, 

how constituted - -"- - 520 

mentioned -- 528 

Mobile Bay, 

respecting erection of an arsenal on. _ 583 

Moccasins, 

men to be selected to make, for their corps 270 

Moffat, , 

mentioned 593 

Moneys, 

respecting, obtained from sales of stores and supplies 505, 587 

appropriated for the Ordnance Service 595, 599 

Signal Service 620 

public, how accounted for 200, 336, 408, 462, 463, 578 

MONONGAHELA NAVIGATION COMPANY,- 

mentioned 521 

Montgomery, John, 

appointed to muster Major Wilson's battalion 635 

MooKE, James, 

api)oiiited brigade major 61, 63 

inspector 96 

Moore, John, 

appointed to act as an assistant commissary of purchases 282 

Moore, John, 

mentioned - 362 

Moore, Willis E., 

mentioned f>93 

Morgan, George, 

to appoint a deputy commissary for the troops on the western frontiers of 

Virginia 251 

appointed deputy commissary-general of purchases 273 

mentioned 291 

Morgan, John, 

elected director-general and chief physician 364 

appointed director-general and physician in chief 367 

mentioned 361,366,368,369,380 

Morgan, Michael R., 

mentioned - - 238 



INDEX. 757 

MOERIS, GOUVERNEUR, Page. 

member of committee 15, 291 

mentionetl 159, 160 

Morris, Lewis, 

member of committee .- 253, 535, 539, 540 

Morris, Robert, 

member of committee 246 

Morris, Robert, 

directed to send 3 tons of steel and 5 tons of nail rods for the use of the 

army in the Northern Department 545 

Mortars, 

respecting the casting of 549 

arrival of imported, announced 550 

contracts to be made for 554 

mentioned 570 

Moultrie, William, 

mentioned 648 

Mount Vernon, Va., 

survey of a national road from the Aqueduct Bridge to 523 

MoYLAN, John, 

elected clothier-general 318 

appointment announced to the Army 319 

mentioned 238 

MovLAN, Stephen, 

elected Quartermaster-General 144 

appointment of, announced to the Army 144 

to have rank of colonel and pay of $H0 a m< mth 144 

appointed muster-master-general 631 

mentioned 140, 145, 629 

Muhlenberg, Peter, 

mentioned as, 59, 61, 89, 94 

Mule litters, 

authorized in lieu of amlHilancts 421 

Mullany, James R., 

mentioned 140 

Mullens, Thomas, 

appointed brigade-major 58, 59 

to act as brigade-major 59 

Mumkord, William Green, 

elected deputy commissary -general of issues 263 

Murray, , 

to be commissioned captain of sappers and miners 491 

resigned 493 

Murray', Robert, 

mentioned 362 

Musket locks {see Gunlocks), 

to be imported 537 

Muskets (sef Rifles), 

respecting importation of 536 

manufacture of - 537, 539, 541, 543, 555 

purchase of 538, 539, 541 

all to be stamped "United States " 546 

distribution of imported 546 

impressment of 548 

to be furnished the Southern army 563 

mentioned 547 

Mustering Department, 

plan of the. 96 

necessary books and paper to be furnished the - 179 

mentioned - 636 

discontinued - 636 

MuSTERINt; OFFICERS, 

duties of - 98 

Muster- Master-General (xee Rank; Pay; Rations; Forage), 

appointed - 631, 632 

deputv, authorized 633, 635 

" appointed 631,632,634,635 



758 INDEX. 

Mustee-Master-General — Continued. Page. 

deputy, to take the oath of office 635 

duties of 632 

Muster masters (see Pay; Rations; Forage), 

for corps of wagoners authorized 635 

respecting issue of small quantity of shirts and linen to 304, 636 

mentioned - 636 

deputy, authorized 631, 632, 633 

appointed 634, 635 

duties of 634 

Muster rolls, 

abstracts of, to whom sent 57, 633 

how made 97, 98 

to be sworn to 634 

Musters, 

by whom made 95, 100, 636 

how made 97, 98 

when to be made 631, 633 

Myer, Albert J., 

mentioned 611 

N. 
Nash, William H., 

mentioned 238 

National armories, 

to be established at each arsenal 572 

reports of arms made and repaired in, to be made 572 

National cemeteries, 

authorized 218 

superintendents of, how selected 218, 220, 226 

to be inclosed 219, 226 

graves in, how marked 219, 221, 226 

care of cemetery near City of Mexico 221, 222, 226 

National Home for Soldiers' and Sailors' Ori'mans, 

respecting issue of medical stores to the 423 

National Homes for Disabled Volunteers, 

respecting clothing for the 222, 687 

obsolete ordnance and ordnance stores for tlie 605 

to be inspected yearly 116 

medical stores to be sold to the 424, 436 

National road, 

survey of a, from the Aqueduct Bridge to Mount Vernon, Va 523 

Naval arsenals, 

respecting erection of 500 

Naval officers, 

to inspect steam vessels for the Quartermaster's Department 216 

Naval service, 

provisions respecting artificial limbs api^licable to men in the 426 

mariners liable to draft may enlist in the 671 

enlistments in the, how credited 672, 676, 678 

mentioned 670 

Negroes, 

to be enrolled 675 

bounty to slave, to whom paid 676 

Nevada volunteers, 

respecting traveling expenses of, discharged in New Mexico, Arizona, and 
Utah 472 

Nevin, Daniel, 

to be commissioned captain of sappers and miners 491 

appointed captain of engineers 491 

New Canaan, N. Y., 

respecting lead mine at 539 

New England, 

legislatures of, requested to authorize impressment of transportation 142 

New Hampshire, 

uniform of the, line - . - 15 

quota of, to be furnished in provisions 306, 312 



INDEX. 759 

New Hampshire — Continued. v^ge. 

quota of, to be furnished in provisions, how paid for 307 

when deliverable 80V, 314 

requested to furnish cattle * 310 

collect saltpeter and brimstones 535 

New Jersey, 

uniform of the, line 15 

requested to authorize impressment of provisions in hands of engrossers . 1 58, 289 

(|uota of, to be furnished in forage 166 

how paid for 166 

provisions 306 

how paid for 307, 313 

when deliverable 807, 314 

requested to call for contributions of blankets 268 

not to grant exemptions from embargo 289 

to furnish flour 304 

cattle 310 

collect saltpeter and brimstone 535 

report condition of lead mines 541 

improvement of channel between, and Staten Island 513 

mentioned 176, 271, 291, 311, 368, 380, 381, 390, 545, 550 

New London, Conn., 

mentioned 383, 571 

New Mexico, 

traveling expenses of California volunteers discharged in 472 

respecting pay of military storekeeper of ordnance in 587 

New Orleans, La., 

respecting construction of custom-house in 505 

Newton, John, 

mentioned 483 

New Windsor, N. Y., 

mentioned 400 

New York, 

uniform of the, line 15 

requested to authorize impressment of provisions in hands of engrossers. 158, 289 

quota of, to be furnished in forage 166 

how paid for 166 

provisions 806, 312 

how paid for 307, 312 

when deliverable 307, 314 

requested not to grant exemptions from embargo 289 

to cause distribution of certain provisions 300 

sulphur in New York City to be removed 690 

collect saltpeter and brimstone 535 

respecting lead mines in 539, 541, 549, 641 

mentioned 639, 645, 648, 690 

New York City, N. Y., 

quartermaster's depot at, mentioned 217 

respecting certain bells taken from 569 

sulphur in the 690 

New York Department, 

appointment of staff officers for the - . 53, 141, 239, 445 

Niagara, N. Y., 

pay of assistant military agent at 195 

Niagara River, 

respecting width of draw in bridge across the 527 

Nicaraguan Canal, 

mentioned 526 

Nichols, Bela, 

commissioned first lieutenant in regiment of artillery artificers 559 

Nichols, Noah, 

commissioned captain in regiment of artillery artificers 559 

NicoDEMUs, William J. L., 

mentioned 611 

Nicola, Lewis, 

mentioned 390 

NicoLL, Abimael Y., 

mentioned 52, 86 



760 INDEX. 

Nixon, John, Page, 

mentioned 55, 5f?, 62 

NOARTH, GeORGIO, ^ 

mentioned 635 

NON COMBATANTS, 

drafted, may be assigned to duty in liospitals 674 

NoRRis George, 

commissioned first lieutenant of artillery artificers 549 

North, William, 

appointment of, as inspector of the troops remaining in service confirmed . 103 

to receive pay allowed to an inspector of a separate army 103 

mentioned 51 , 52, 85 

North Carolina, 

uniform of the, line 15 

appointment of staff oflScers for duty in 143 

respecting agents in, to purchase leather and deerskins 153, 274 

quota of, to be furnished in forage 1 66 

how paid for 166 

provisions - . . 306, 313 

how paid for 307 

when deliverable 307, 314, 315 

to furnish magazines of forage - 179 

provisions 310 

requested to lay an embargo on beef and pork 280 

collect saltpeter and brimstone 535 

mentioned z 246, 279, 365, 583, 632 

North Carolina light horse, 

paymaster for the, ai^pointed 448 

Northern army, 

appointment of staff officers for the 58, 103, 124, 144, 248, 364, 632 

respec;ting supply of the 246 

medicines to be sent to the - 367 

mentioned 545 

Northern Department, 

appointment of staff officers for the 57, 60, 265, 269, 290, 367, 370, 374 

payment of troops in the, 1 )y wliom made 446 

mentioned _ 12, 275, 368, 369, 378, 545, 633 

North River Bridge, 

mentioned 524 

Nourse, Charles J., 

mentioned 52 

Nurse corps, 

how constituted 439 

attached to Medical Department 437 

payments to the, by whom made 439, 478 

Nurses (««' Pay; Rations; Pensions), 

authorized 363,371,384,392,404,439 

how appointed 364, 387, 391 

female, may be substituted for soldiers 416, 430 

O. 

Oath of Office, 

form of 12, 21, 33, 682, 684 

to be taken by officers of the department of stores and provisions 239 

purchases 261,284,317 

issues 261 , 278 

Quartermaster's Department 141, 154, 175, 188 

Hospital Department 390 

Pay Department 445, 458, 459, 460 

Freedmen's Bureau 655, 659 

inspectors of contracts 185, 323 

respecting failure to take the 154, 377, 398, 566 

Oaths, 

form of, as to correctness of muster rolls 98 

of witnesses before courts-martial - - 128, 133 

judge-advocates authorized to administer 134 

boards of enrollment empowered to administer - 673 



INDEX. 761 

Observations, Page. 

respecting system of, by Signal Hervict^ (il 4 

Okkice, 

civil, not to be held by officerw on the active list 685 

holding a civil, no bar to receiving half pay 380, 453 

Officers (m;e Engineer; Topographical Engineers; yiciNAL and Staff 
Officers), 
all, under rank of brigadier-general may be « isplaced by General Wash- 
ington 12 

grant of land to 11,19 

(See Pay; Rations; Half pay; Servants; Homes; Forage; Baggage 
Wagons; Bathorses; Brevets; Uniform; Badges; Retired List; 
Artificial Limbs; Prisoners of War.) 

forbidden to wear red coats 19 

disabled, to be placed on list of invalids 24, 25 

respecting line, transferred to staff 26, 31, 39, 70, 73, 93, 464, 683, 686 

discharged in 1815 to receive three months' pay 27 

entitled to pension for service in the Revolutionary war 28, 29 

not to receive extra allowances not authorized by law 30 

when deemed deserters , 32, 33 

claims of, entitled to retirement 32, 34, 37, 39, 42 

may purchase articles kept l)y vSubsistence Department 35, 41 

length of service, how computed 36 

respecting transportation to, traveling without troops 43 

{See Mileage; Leave of Absence; Quarters; Travelini; Allowances; 
Volunteer Officers. ) 

respecting detail of, for staff duty 45, 134, 233, 234, 357, 358, 529, 606, 686 

portmanteaus and valises issued to 160 

supernumerary, of infantry 185, 323, 494, 566, 650 

in hospitals to be cured of venereal diseases 376 

detail of, for ambulance duty 420 

settlement of accounts of 456 

assignment of, to duty as paymasters 466, 467 

in Freedraen' s Bureau 656, 657 

{See Arms; Patents; Inventions. ) 

on active list not to hold anv Territorial civil office 685 

mentioned ' 23, 183 

Ogden, Aaron, 

appointed brigade-major 60, 66 

to do the duty of brigade-major pro tem 63 

O'Hara, James, 

mentioned 140, 319, 328 

Ohio River, 

canal around falls of the, mentioned . 505 

examination of all bridges over tlic 511, 512 

canal route from Lake Erie to the 526 

Oliphant, David, 

elected deputy director of the hospitals of the Southern Armv 394 

mentioned 361, 382, 394 

Oliver, Robert, 

appointed brigade-major 62 

mentioned 99 

Ordinance, 

for regulating the Clothing Department 293 

Ordnance (,sy«' Cannon; Guns; Mortars), 

respecting issues of captured 592 

(condemned 605 

heavy rifled 593 

unserviceable, may be sold 582 

obsolete projectiles for, may be sold 595 

depots of, authorized 596 

respecting inventions of 519, 600 

cost of, issued to States and Territories, how credited 602 

contracts for, may I)e made 604 

may be purchased \vi liout advertisement 604 

reH))cctiiig fi'cight cliarges on 607 

mentioned 577, 580, 581, 596 



762 INDEX. 

Ordnance Btjeeau, Page. 

pay of principal assistant in the 587, 598 

superintendent of manufacture of iron cannon authorized in the 585, 586 

to purchase or contract for necessary ordnance and stores 604 

Ordnance Department, 

how constituted 576, 579, 583, 592, 594, 595, 596, 604, 605, 606 

increased 584, 586, 590, 591 

respecting business of the, to be done in the field 656 

report on condition of the 569 

merged into the artillery 581 

act merging the, into the artillery repealed 583 

regulating number of subalterns transferred to the 585 

enlisted men of the, how designated 590, 591 

new appointments and promotions in the, forbidden 593 

may l)e made 595 

promotions and appointments in the, subject to examination 594 

[see Vacancies. ) 

of the Navy mentioned 602 

respecting details for duty in the 581, 606 

mentioned 581, 595, 598, 600, 602 

Ordnance officers {see Pay; Rations), 

may be retained or transferred to other corps 581 

superintendents of designated armories to be 585, 590, 598 

repealed 588 

who served fourteen years as subaltern to be promoted 588, 597 

to be examined prior to promotion 591, 597 

{see Vacancies.) 

examination to precede appointment as 596 

respecting examination of, who served as volunteers 603 

promotion of 606 

mentioned 582, 586, 600, 602, 604 

Ordnance sergeants, 

authorized 583, 595 

how selected 583, 595 

Ordnance storekeepers {sec Rank; Pay), 

authorized 572, 592, 596, 600, 606 

to give bonds 597 

may be assigned as paymasters at arsenals and armories 592, 596 

number of, limited 585 

mentioned 219, 577, 580, 584, 587 

office of, when to cease 605 

Ordnance stores {see Chief of Ordnance), 

committee to consider means of obtaining 535 

respecting magazines of 541, 574 

removal of certain 546, 548 

issues of, in camp 559 

disposition of imported 565 

in fixed magazines, how drawn out 556 

returns of, to be made 557, 565, 568, 569, 577, 580, 581 

respecting embezzlement, etc. , of 561 

not to be sold without order of Congress 568 

sale of, to be stopped 569 

respecting forms of returns and accounts of 336, 578 

establishment of depots of, authorized 580, 596 

damaged or unsuitable, may be sold 582, 593, 598 

regulates purchase of 589, 590, 604 

cost of, issued to States and Territories, how credited 602 

respecting freight charges on 607 

mentioned 537, 541, 543, 544, 547, 551, 552, 553, 556, 557, 564, 568, 572, 573, 587 

Oregon, 

pay of ordnance storekeepers in 587 

Ores {see Lead), 

Orphans, 

of officers who died of wounds entitled to pension 24, 26 

mentioned - 457 

Otis, Samuel A., 

mentioned 277 



INDEX. 763 

Otto, Bodo, Page. 

accepted commutation in lieu of half pay 401 

Otto, Frederick, 

accepted commutation in lieu of half pay 401 

OwiNGS, Nathaniel, 

mentioned 548 

Oxen, 

number of, fit for service to be reportei I '. 147 

respecting exchange of horses for draft 180 

Ox teams, 

respecting sul)stitution of, for horse teams 158 

P. 

Paca, William, 

member of committee 247, 249, 540 

mentioned 146, 250 

Pacific coast, 

respecting contracts for supplies needed on the 217, 218 

erection of gun factories on the 524 

deep-water harbor on the - 524 

Pacific Ocean, 

respecting railroad t(j the 506 

mentioned - 46 

Pack animals, 

number of, limited 228 

Packers, 

authorized 261 

pay of, by whom regulated 262, 305 

Packets {see Letters), 
Pails, 

huts for troops to be provided with 154 

Paine, Robert Treat, 

member of committee 247, 363, 535, 538, 539, 540, 543, 545 

mentioned 54, 242 

Palfrey, William, 

elected Paymaster-General of the Army of the United States 446 

pay increased 450 

allowed the sum of $20,000 compensation for services 453 

appointment announced to the Army 446 

mentioned 443, 450, 453, 454 

Palmer, , 

mentioned - 146, 248, 543 

Pancoast, David, 

commissioned captain of artillery artificers 549 

mentioned 554 

Parks, Theophilus, 

commissioned lieutenant in regiment of artillery artificers 554 

mentioned 559 

Parke, John, 

appointed an assistant to the Quartermaster-General 141 

Parker, Daniel, 

mentioned - 52, 86, 443 

Parker, Paul, 

to do duty as brigade-major 59 

Parole {see Exchange), 

prisoners on, to pay their own expenses 647 

Parsons, S. H., 

mentioned 55 

Parvin, Mathew, 

appointment of, as conductor of artillery confirmed 568 

Patten, Thomas, 

commissioned captain-lieutenant in regiment of artillery artificers 559 

Patterson, , 

mentioned 59, 89 

Pattekson, Thomas, 

appointed brigade-major i)ro ten i 59 

Patterson, William, 

mentioned 124 



7<H INDEX. 

Pastliragk, Pa??e. 

States requested to f)rocnre, for pnblie horses 1 75 

Patent, 

claims for use of any, for preservation of clothing, etc., not allowed 220 

Patent arms {see Inventions), 

purchase of, to be authorized by law 589 

Patients, 

care of medical and surgical patients in Washington City 510 

Paupers, 

care of transient, in Washington City 510 

Pay {see Half pay; Retired list; Leave of absence), 

of officers established '. 25, :^.7, 40, 496 

increased - — 31, 36 

for every five years' service 37, 40 

serving extraterritorially increased 47, 48 

on the list of invalids 24, 25 

of the Adjutant-General's Department 53, 55, 57, 60, 61, 62, 

63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81 

Inspector-General's Depa.-tment 89, 90, 92, 93, 

94, 96, 99, 100, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 112, 114 

Judge- Advocate-General's Department 123, 124, 

126, 127, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133 

department of stores and provisions 239 

purchases 262, 304, 305, 335, 336, 337 

issues 262, 264, 266, 296, 304 

hides - 263, 298 

militarv stores 536, 541, 

545, 546, 551, 552, 557, 560, 562, 563, 567, 571 

musters 631, 633, 634, 635 

clothier's department 248, 267, 295, 296, 323 

Quartermaster's Department. 141, 144, 145, 148, 151, 156, 161, 162, 
163, 164, 173, 184, 185, 186, 191, 192, 193, 194, 195, 196, 199, 201, 
203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208, 210, 218, 222, 223, 231, 232, 233, 336 

Subsistence Department 338, 339, 

340, 341, 342, 344, 348, 349, 350, 356 

Medical Department 363, 364, 365, 366, 367, 373, 378, 

387, 388, 391, 394, 396, 397, 398, 401, 402, 403, 405, 406, 407, 408, 
409, 410, 411, 412, 416, 417, 418, 419, 423, 424, 427, 428, 429, 438 

pay department 445, 447, 448, 449, 450, 452, 453, 456, 458, 

459, 460, 461, 462, 463, 464, 465, 466, 467, 468, 469, 472, 473, 474 

Corps of Engineers 485, 486, 

487, 491, 494, 495, 496, 497, 498, 499, 502, 509, 510, 513 

corps of topographical engineers 499 

Ordnance Department . . 581, 584, 585, 586, 587, 590, 592, 598, 604 
department of the commissary-general of ordnance . 577, 578, 579 

prisoners 639, 644, 645, 650 

Signal Corps 613, 614, 616, 618, 624_ 

bureau of refugees and freedmen . . 655, 656, 657' 

provost-marshal general's bureau 667, 673, 677 

corps of artillery — artificers 550, 553 

professors of the Military Academy 497, 498 

inspector of fortifications 496 

t-ontracts 566 

cattle 288, 306 

surveyor of ordnance 558 

military agent« and assistants 332 

superintendent of live stock 317 

marine commissioner of prisoners 651 

contract surgeons 436, 438 

paymasters' clerks 467, 469, 470, 475 

ordnance sergeants 583, 598 

superintendents of armories 581, 584 

national cemeteries 220, 226 

post (luartermaster-sergeants 229 

commissary sergeants 349, 351 

hospital stewards 411, 414, 417, 433 

company of sappers and miners 604 

engineer battalion 508, 510, 514, 515 



INDEX. 765 

Pay — Continued. Page, 

of artifii-ers 497 

artillery artificers. 560, 561, 562 

topographical engineer soldiers 509 

enlisted men of the Hospital Corps 434 

Corps of Engineers 511 

ordnance 590, 591, 598 

the Signal Corps 617, 620, 625 

hospital matrons 431 

nurses 416, 431, 439 

employees in the department of stores and provisions. 244, 245, 246, 247, 251, 253 

purchases 317 

issues 296 

military stores 545, 549 

commissary-general of ordnance 577 

Quartermaster's Department 197, 198, 199, 224 

armories 572, 575, 584, 585, 588, 598 

bakers 253, 281, 318 

respecting deficiency of, by reason of depreciated bills of credit 17, 19 

purchase of goods on account of 19 

accounts for, how made 20 

States requested to discharge deficiency on additional 22 

three months, allowed to officers deranged in 1815 27 

1818 29 

warrant staff officers 28 

of engineer member of Deej) Waterways Commission 528 

Pay Department {see Vacancies), 

how organized 463, 469, 472, 474, 476, 477, 478 

increased 466, 467, 468 

report of committee on the > 457 

no new appointments or promotions to be made in the 473, 475 

section 6 of act of March 3, 1869, modified as to the 473 

number of majors in the, reduced 476, 477 

all appropriations under, to constitute one fund 477 

vacancy in position of chief of the, how filled 479 

officers of the, not to command in the line or other corps 468, 474 

disbursing officers of the, to renew their bonds 469, 475 

respecting command in the 468 

to make payments to the Nurse Corps 439, 478 

respecting details for duty in the i 478, 479 

mentioned 478 479 

Paymaster-General (s^e Rank; Pay; Rations; Forage), 

authorized 445, 458, 459, 463, 465, 469, 472, 473, 474, 476, 478 

how appointed 472, 475 

to give bonds and take the oath of office 445 

appointed 445, 446, 454 

appointment of, announced to the Army 446 

duties of 322, 

446, 447, 448, 449, 450, 451, 452, 454, 455, 456, 457, 464, 465, 469, 470, 472 

to keep his office when Congress may sit 452 

near headquarters of main army 451, 459 

authorized to appoint his assistant and deputy 455 

services of, united with those of commissioner of Army accounts 457 

to frank and receive letters, etc. , free of postage 465 

{see Paymaster of the Army), 

to perform his duties under direction of the President 460, 474 

e.v officio Commissioner of Soldier's Home 470 

vacancy in position of, how filled 479 

mentioned 448, 452, 453, 454, 455, 467 

assistant, authorized 448, 449 

appointed - 449 

deputy, authorized 445, 452, 461, 468 

to take the oath of office 445 

appointed 446, 447, 448, 453 

duties of 446, 447, 448, 449, 450, 451, 474 

allowed commission on disbursements 454 

respecting issue of small supply of shirts and linen to the 304, 447 

authorized to appoint assistants 445, 449 



766 INDEX. 

Paymaster-General — Continued. P*?e. 

deputy, assistant, authorized 461 

respecting retention of 463 

discharge of two, revoked 469 

mentioned 448 

Paymaster op the Army {see Pay), 

authorized 457, 460 

to give bonds 458 

duties of 457, 460, 463 

letters, etc. , to and from the, free of postage 460 

retained 461 

mentioned 463 

Paymasters {see Pay; Rations; Forage), 

authorized 449, 451, 469, 472, 474, 478 

appointed 445 446, 447, 448 

to give bonds 445 

hospital, to draw clothing 381 

of regiments mentioned 456 

Corps of Engineers attached to Pay Department 466 

{see District paymasters; Battalion paymasters), 

authorized to appoint clerks 466, 467, 475 

respecting officers of the line acting as 467 

number of, reduced 467, 473, 474, 476, 477 

discharged on reduction to receive three months' pay 468 

to be examined - 470, 471 

respecting settlement of accounts of - - 473 

to issue deposit books to soldiers. _ 473, 475 

how selected 469, 472 

mode of selection of, repealed 473 

additional, authorized 466, 467, 468, 474 

may be retained - 469, 478 

to be examined - - - - 470 

officers of the line may be assigned to duty as 466 

(see Retired list; Vacancies.) 

how appointed from civil life 477 

respecting pay of military storekeepers designated as 584 

mentioned 27,455,469,472,478,549 

assistant, authorized 445, 449, 455 

to give bonds - 448 

deputy, authorized 455 

appointed - 453 

allowed one wagon 172, 187, 454, 456 

mentioned 449, 452 

Paymaster's clerks {see Pay; Rations), 

authorized 464, 467, 469, 470, 475 

Payments, 

respecting, of claims for supplies furnislu'd - 212 

for goods, etc. , taken in Philadelphia 293 

of extra pay for service in Mexican war 469 

to sick and wounded soldiers 470 

of bounty - 471 , 472, 473, 474, 659, 660 

of claims of disloyal persons forbidden 424, 472, 511, 686, 687 

to the Army, how made 445, 455, 460, 461 , 462, 463, 474, 475 

Nurse Corps, by whom made - 439, 478 

Pay rolls, 

how made 447 

Peabody, 



member of committee 17 

mentioned 17 

Peale, St. George, 

elected commissary of military stores in Maryland - - - - 545 

mentioned - ^33 

Peck, William, 

to do duty as brigade-major - 55 

appointed brigade-major - - - 55 

appointment of, as deputy adjutant-general, confirmed 58 

Peers, Valentine, 

appointed brigade-major 58 



INDEX. 767 

Pellisee, Christopher, Page, 

appointed an engineer in the service of the United States 486 

Pemberton, Robert, 

appointed assistant adjutant-general 64 

Pendleton, James Jauncey, 

pay and rations allowed to, as magazine keeper. 245 

Penet & Co., 

mentioned 563 

Penet & Couloux, (Messrs.) 

contract with 555 

mentioned 555 

Penet, Windel & Co., 

mentioned 555 

Penn, John, 

member of committee 247 

appointed to visit hospitals 376 

Pennsylvania, 

uniform of the, line 15 

requested to authorize impressment of provisions in hands of engross- 
ers 158, 289 

requested not to grant exemptions from embargo 289 

quota of, to be furnished in forage 166 

how paid for 166, 167 

provisions 306, 313 

how paid for 307, 313 

when deliverable 307, 315 

wagons of the, line to be put in order 180 

to request contribution of blankets, etc 249 

requested to permit vessels to load with provisions for Eastern States 288 

furnish flour or wheat 303 

cattle 310 

lay up military stores, etc 544 

impress arms in Philadelphia 548 

to furnish one regiment of artificers 562 

German prisoners of war to be removed to 649 

mentioned 145, 155, 

252, 264, 271, 272, 279, 280, 287, 311, 367, 380, 381, 447, 536, 545, 546, 562 

Pensacola Bay, 

erection of an arsenal on 583 

Pension Bureau, 

respecting erection of a building for the 227 

Pension laws, 

provisions of, applicable to the men in the several staff corps 208, 

342, 413, 504, 586 

Pensions, 

respecting, to nurses 435 

to men who served in the Revolutionary war 28, 29, 409 

disabled officers of Provost-Marshal-General's Bureau 680 

Pepper, 

army ration to include «^46, 351 

Perry, Ebenezer, 

pay and rations allowed to, as clerk 244 

Peruvian bark, 

to be sent to the Southern Departmei; t 365, 367 

Peters, Andrew, 

appointed brigade-major - 62 

Pettingill, Joseph, 

ai)pointed brigade inspector 95 

Pettit, Charles, 

appointed assistant quartermaster-general 15b, 17b 

permitted to resign 182 

Philadelphia, 

number of horses and oxen in, fit for service to be reported 147 

respecting goods, etc. , seized in 1'59, 161, 290, 293 

magazines of provisions to be formed in or near 250 

leaden spouts in, to be taken down for lalwratory 548 

onlv an issuing store and laboratory to be kept in 562 

Mentioned...: 183,250,367,522,544,545,550,570,571 



768 INDEX. 

Philippines (.si^e Badges), I'age. 

pay of officers in the, increased • 47 

mentioned 233, 626 

Philips, Peter, 

elected commissary of hides 263 

declined appointment 265 

pay and rations of, as storekeeper 244 

mentioned 238, 265 

Phumekin, 

mentioned - 383 

Physician and Surgeon (.see Chief physician and surgeon), 

authorized 366 

Physician and Surgeon-General {see Pay; Rations), 

authorized, duties of '. 372, 408 

appointed 373, 374 

entitled to draw clothing 381 

letters, etc. , to and from the, free of postage 408 

mentioned 380 

Physician-Generals {see Pay; Rations), 

authorized 371, 403, 404 

appointed 373, 374, 375 

duties of 371,374,378,404 

Physician in Chief (see Director and physician in chief). 

Pickering, Timothy, 

elected quartermaster-general 176 

continued as a member of the board of war 176 

to have rank of colonel and the pay and rations of brigadier-general over 

and above pay of quartermaster-general 176 

member of committee 17 

appointed adjutant-general 58 

mentioned 17, 51, 69, 140, 176 

Pierce, John, 

elected deputy paymaster-general 453 

paymaster-general 454 

mentioned 443 

Pike, , 

to superintend military hospital at Williamsburg 395 

Pike, Zebulon M., 

mentioned 52, 86 

Pioneers, 

corps of, to be raised 184 

Pittsburg, Pa., 

mentioned 195, 585 

Plan, 

of the inspecting and mustering department 96 

for conducting the inspectors' department 100 

respecting, for an artillery yard 544 

Platt, , 

appointed division inspector 100 

Platt, , 

mentioned 182 

Platt, Richard, 

to do duty as brigade-major 55 

mentioned 55 

PoE, David, 

appointed quartermaster for the town of Baltimore 153 

Points Capistrans and Duma, 

mentioned 524 

Pontoniers {see Engineer soldiers), 
Poor, Enoch, 

mentioned 60, 62, 89, 95 

Pork (,see Barrels), 

exportation of, prohibited 251 

North Carolina to lay an embargo on all 280 

to be procured .■ 282 

quotas of States to be furnished in 312, 313, 314, 315 

may be received in lieu of flour ,..,.. 316 



INDEX. 769 

Portage Lake and River Improvement Company Canal, Page, 

mentioned 521 

Porter, Jabez, 

pay and rations allowed to, as magazine keeper 245 

F'orterfield, Robert, 

to do duty of brigade-major pro tempore 61 

mentioned 61 

Portland and Louisville Canal, 

mentioned 524 

Portmanteaus, 

respecting, furnished to officers 160 

Port Orford, Oreg., 

respecting harbor of refuge at 524 

Porto Rico, 

actual expenses only for travel to and from 46 

pay of officers serving in, increased 47 

Postage {see Letters), 

accounts for official, how paid 681 

Post commissary-sergeants, 

commissary-sergeants to be known as 357 

Post exchanges, 

respecting use of public buildings by 230 

Postmaster {see Rations), 

allowance of transportation to the field 172 

Post quartermaster-sergeants, 

authorized 228, 233 

duties and pay of 229 

number of, increased 232 

Posts, 

limiting expenditure on buildings at 229 

respecting use of buildings by post exchanges 230 

rations may be issued to Indians visiting 341 

meteorological observations to be taken at 614, 616 

Post surgeons, 

authorized 409 

garrison surgeons and mates considered as 689 

Potomac River, 

mentioned 397 

Potomac waterworks, 

to be placed in charge of an engineer officer 506 

supervision of the, transferred to Department of the Interior 509 

Potts, Jonathan, 

to be employed as physician and surgeon 366 

elected deputy director-general of hospital in Northern Department 374 

mentioned 369, 378 

Powder {see Gunpowder), 

POWDERHOENS, 

horns of bullocks killed to be made into 142, 242, 538 

Powder magazines, 

precautions against fire in 566, 567 

Powder mills, 

in State of New York to be put in order 535 

colonies requested to erect 540 

Precincts, 

construction of word, in enrollment act 676 

Powell, John W., 

mentioned 349 

Power, Alexander, 

commissioned ciuartermaater to the corps of artillery artificers 550 

Pratt, John, 

mentioned 51 

President of the United States {see Clothing; Uniform), 

authorized to make calls for military service 670 

assign to districts number of men to be furnished 668 

make recess appointments 25, 68, 

70, 71, 105, 107, 109, 193, 195, 199, 335, 403, 407, 462, 466, 614 

S. Doc. 229 49 



770 INDEX. 

Pheston, Will, Page, 

commissioned second lieutenant < if artillery artificers 549 

Price, J., 

elected deputy commissary-general for tlie army in C'anada 243 

Price, William, 

member of committee 544 

Prices, 

States requested to adopt a temporary regulation of 153, 274, 550 

furnish list of, current in 1774 305 

standard of, for medical stores to be established 398 

Priming, 

improvement in mode of, to be applied to old or new arms 588 

Princeton, N. J., 

quartermaster's stores in, to be removed 152 

Printing, 

respecting, of reports of heads of bureaus 31, 41 

cost of public, not to exceed allotment 44 

Printin(4 office {see Government Printing Office). 

Prison {see Military prison). 

Prisoners of war (see Commissary op prisoners), 

respecting provisions for 275, 

278, 290, 291, 299, 300, 322, 640, 641, 642, 643, 647, 648, 651 

hospital for sick 391 

exchange of 642, 643, 644, 645, 649, 650, 651 

pay of officers and men made 645 

removal of 649 

Spanish, in New York 645 

governor of Virginia to superintend camp for, in that State 160 

may be furnished for work in lead mines 549, 641 

log barracks to be provided for, in Virginia 640 

captured by French fleet, how provided for 642 

sailors on board captured ships considered as - . 640 

all, of the Saratoga convention to be removed to Virginia 643 

on parole to pay their own expenses 647 

President to make regulations for safekeeping of 651 

mentioned 280, 394, 639, 640, 642, 644, 645, 646, 647, 648, 649 

Produce {see Provisions), 

conditional exportation of, authorized 536, 539, 690 

Professors, 

at the Military Academy authorized 497, 498 

Projectiles, 

respecting experiments in high explosive 601 

Promotions {see PIxamination; Vacancy), 

power of, reserved by Congress 11 

in staff of the Army how made 31 , 39 

transfers to the staff to be without prejudice to, in the line 30, 39, 98 

to cease in the Army after June 18, 1878 42 

to be by seniority 44, 81, 117, 134, 206 

no new, to be made in staff corps or departments 77, 

78, 112, 113, 114, 219, 224, 349, 425, 473, 475, 511, 593, 597 

law forbidding, repealed 78, 115, 222, 350, 428, 513, 595 

after fourteen years' service authorized 210, 506, 514, 588 

in Corps of Engineers above rank of colonel forbidden 512 

restriction on, in Corps of Engineers repealed 519 

engineer officer to have served three years in grade before 527 

Providence, R. I., 

mentioned 59, 571 

Providence Hospital, 

expenditure of appropriations for, liy whom controlled 425 

mentioned 425 

Providence Plantations, 

mentioned 449, 535, 635 

Provisions, 

magazines of, to be inspected 87, 253 

formed 242, 245, 250, 291, 310, 324 

respecting, for forces on Lake Champlain 239 

issue of, to hospitals 267, 370, 376 

members of Congress 269 



INDEX. 771 

Provisions — Continued. Page. 

respecting of, issue of, for prisoners of war 278, 291, 640, 641, 644 

the people of the J^astern States 288 

exportation of, prohibited 245, 286, 289 

importation of, authorized 250 

(see Beef; Rice; Vegetables.) 

respecting, for the Northern Army 246 

various commands 248, 286, 290, 643 

impressment of, authorized 268, 273, 276, 289 

purchase of, authorized 280 

(.see Prices.) 

to be furnished the French squadron 287, 289 

quotas of, to be furnished by the States. . 304, 306, 307, 308, 312, 313, 314, 315, 316 

contracts for and purchases of, how made 328 

mentioned 249, 258, 259, 260, 261, 277, 280, 281, 289, 292, 322, 371, 454 

Provost-Marshal-General (see Rank; Pay), 

authorized 667 

duties of •. 667, 670, 676, 679 

mentioned 668, 669 

Provost-Marshal-General's Bureau, 

respecting continuance of the 680 

Provost-marshals {see Baggage wagons; Forage), 

authorized 667 

duties of 667, 673 

disabled in line of duty entitled to pension 680 

mentioned 674, 678 

Property {see Public property). 

Publications, 

sale of surplus, of the Signal Office 615, 616 

Public buildings and grounds (.see Commissioner of Public Buildings and 
Grounds). 

Public library {see Washington Public Library), 

Public park, 

respecting establishment of a, in District of Columbia 524 

Public property (see Superintendent op finance) , 

respecting returns of 176, 177, 230, 326, 354, 435, 526, 603 

sale of 178 

accountability for, of the Signal Corps 621 

expenditures for improving, in Washington City, by whom controlled ... 511 
board to examine classes and kinds of, in the Signal Service 623, 624 

Public stores (see Hospital; Military; Subsistence stores), 

respecting removal of 147, 152, 155, 369, 376 

issues of, to members of Congress 153, 157, 166, 269 

payment of certificates given for purchase of 160, 177, 178, 309 

waste or embezzlement of, how punished 177, 308, 383, 561 

returns of, to be made 190,326,401 

mentioned 12, 

153, 212, 231, 240, 255, 256, 258, 259, 260, 331, 403, 492, 550, 568, 575 

Public supplies (see Superintendent of finance; Commissary-general of 
purchases; Purveyor of public supplies), 

respecting necessary, to be procured 145 

States to be called on to furnish their quotas of 165 

respecting allowance to contractors for furnishing 191 

contracts for, how made 193, 228, 331, 338, 402, 403, 571, 575 

respecting returns and accounts of 199, 200, 407 

proposals for 214, 217 

miscellaneous issues of 220 

mentioned 200, 214, 215, 216, 223, 224, 225, 339, 356, 657, 686, 687, 689 

PuGET Sound, 

mentioned 524 

Pulaski, Casimir, 

mentioned 59, 451 

PuRCELL, Henry, 

appointment of, as deputy judge-advocate, confirmed 124 

Purchasing Depa ktm ent, 

how organized 337 

mentioned 204,339,340 

abolished 206 



772 INDEX. 

Purchases (see Board of War; Board of War and Ordnance; Commissary- 
General OF Purchases; Clothier-General), Page. 

respecting agents of States for making 155 

discontinued in States undertaking to furnish their quotas 165, 167, 304 

of wheat for forage not to be made 159, 288 

how made 174, 191, 193, 196, 208, 209, 225, 228, 331, 

332, 343, 344, 352, 402, 403, 406, 415, 431, 507, 508, 571, 575, 589, 599 

respecting certificates given for, made 160, 177, 178, 309 

returns of, to be made 178 

(see Superintendent of Finance; Prices; Ordnance; Ordnance 
Stores. ) 

respecting, of patented firearms 209, 343, 507, 589 

miscellaneous, in Philadelphia authorized 249 

under $200 may be made in open market 230, 435, 526, 603, 624 

of land by freedmen ,. 656 

mentioned 199, 200, 213, 215, 216, 223, 255, 350, 432, 590 

Putnam, Israel, 

mentioned ' 250, 269, 272, 545 

Putnam, Rufus, 

appointed engineer with rank of colonel 486 

appointment announced to the army 486 

mentioned 483 

Purveyor of public supplies, 

authorized 329, 402, 573 

duties of 193, 331, 403, 573, 575 

salary of 496, 499 

mentioned 1 92, 331, 403 

office of, abolished 335 

Q. 

Quartermaster-General (.see Rank; Pay; Rations; Forage; Baggage 
wagons), 

authorized 141, 156, 167, 186, 193, 194, 195, 200, 202, 203, 204, 218, 222, 223, 233 

appointed 141, 144, 145, 156, 175, 176 

appointment of, announced to the army 144 

to take the oath of office 141 

how appointed 196, 219, 224 

to give bonds 199 

duties of 99, 142, 143, 144, 145, 147, 148, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 157, 

158, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 169, 173, 174, 175, 176, 177, 178, 179, 180, 
181, 182, 186, 188, 189, 190, 195, 196, 197, 198, 204, 206, 213, 214, 215, 217, 
221, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227, 228, 229, 232, 240, 242, 321, 387, 451, 540, 552 

may be taken from the line 201 

letters, etc. , to and from the, free of postage 183, 197, 201, 205 

entitled to benefits under the Yorkto wn capitulation 19 

retained 202 

President may designate an officer to act as 205 

ex officio commissioner of Soldiers' Home 208, 228 

vacancy in grade of, how filled 234 

mentioned 90, 141, 142, 144, 145, 147, 

148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 156, 157, 158, 159, 162, 163, 169, 170, 171, 172, 176, 
179, 181, 182, 183, 184, 189, 190, 197, 198, 204, 208, 211, 224, 230, 253, 258 

assistant, authorized 156, 167, 206, 218, 222, 223, 233 

appointed 141, 143, 176 

duties of 150, 156, 158, 168, 169 

mentioned 176, 194 

office of, abolished 182 

deputy, authorized 141 , 143, 

151, 152, 154, 167, 176, 183, 186, 194, 199, 200, 202, 206, 218, 222, 223, 233 

appointed 143, 144, 152, 180 

to take the oath of office 141, 154 

duties of 143, 

144, 145, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 158, 160, 167, 180, 182, 200, 241 

entitled to benefits under Yorktown capitulation 19 

receiving commissions not entitled to pay or rations 162 

may be taken from the line 201 

retained 202 



INDEX. 773 

QuARTKRM A STER-G ENER A L — Continued . 

[deputy] (see Vacancies), Page. 

mentioned 142,149,150,151,158 

assistant, authorized 156, 199, 200 

appointed 144, 147 

duties of 150 

may be taken from the line 201 

mentioned 156, 208 

Quartermaster-General's Office, 

divisions established in the 212, 213, 214 

Quartermaster of the Army (.sre Pay; Rations; Forage), 

authorized 191 

Quartermasters {see Rank; Pay; Rations; Forage; Baggage wagons), 

authorized 194, 204, 207, 217, 218, 222, 223, 231, 232, 233, 492 

appointed 152, 153, 550 

dtities of 150, 153, 154, 184, 196, 202, 215, 217, 223, 568 

discharge of, revoked 208 

to be examined 211, 212 

mentioned 154, 160 

district, not to be taken from the line 201 

assistant, authorized 195, 202, 204, 206, 207, 218, 222, 231, 233 

how appointed 196 

appointed 146 

to give bonds 196 

duties of 146, 196, 204, 223 

discharge of, revoked 208 

to be examined 211, 212 

{see Vacancies. ) 

chief of division ambulance corps to be acting 422 

mentioned 206 

deputy, authorized 175, 176, 186, 195 

how appointed 196 

appointed 143, 147 

to give bonds 199 

duties of 150, 158, 180, 196, 450 

mentioned 197, 450 

Quartermaster's Department {see Board of War; Committees op Congress), 

respecting new arrangement of the 155, 156 

how constituted 167, 186, 195, 200, 202, 203, 204, 218, 222, 223, 232, 233 

increased 206, 207, 208, 210, 231, 232 

inquiry to be made into conduct of officers of the 160, 163 

all officers of the, to take the oath of office 175, 188 

give bonds 202 

respecting settlement of business of the late _ 183 

report on operations of the 190 

(sfic Contracts; Purchases; Vacancies.) 

corps of artificers attached to the 198 

all appointments in the, to be made from the Army 206 

duties of purchasing department devolved upon officers of tlie 206 

promotions to rank of riajor in the, how made 207 

inspectors of the, how selected 207 

strict inspection of the, to be made 217 

no new appointments or promotions to be made in the 219 

respecting appointments and promotions in the 222 

details for duty in the 233, 234 

appointments to grade of captain in the, how made 233, 234 

mentioned 152, 

157, 160, 173, 174, 176, 177, 182, 183, 184, 200, 204, 205, 212, 213, 214, 
215, 216, 217, 220, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 228, 229, 230, 231, 232, 233 
Quarters {see Rations), 

officers absent exceeding six months not entitled to allowance for 32 

pay of officers to be in full of commutation of 37 

may be furnished in kind 38, 40, 42, 220 

when commutation of, allowed 42 

storekeepers of Quartermaster's Department entitled to, in kind 208 

superintendents of national cemeteries to be furnished 220, 226 

limitation to cost of construt-tion of 229 

nurses entitled to 439 



774 INDEX. 

Quarters — Continued. Page. 

respecting commutation of, to officers and men in arctic regions 690 

claims of, for servants not allowed 684 

mentioned 209,220,223,226,229,343,344 

Quebec, 

mentioned - 243 

Quotas, 

States to be called on to furnish their, of supplies 165, 304 

of States to be furnished in forage 166 

provisions 306, 307 

mentioned 165, 304 

respecting, of men for military service 670, 672, 677, 678, 679, 680 

B. 

Railroad, 

respecting, from the Mississippi t( > the Pacific Ocean 506 

Ramsay, George D., 

mentioned - 634 

Randolph, Edmund, 

appointed deputy muster-master-general for the Southern Department. . . 632 

authorized to appoint two deputies 632 

Rank, 

of officers of the Adjutant-General' s Department 53, 

55, 60, 68, 69, 70, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81 

Inspector-General's Department 87, 89, 90, 92, 96, 100, 102, 

103, 104, 105, 106, 108, 109, 110, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118 

Judge-Advocate-General's Department 123, 

124, 128, 129, 130, 132, 133, 134, 135 

Bureau of Military Justice 131, 132 

Quartermaster's Department 141, 143, 144, 

145, 147, 151, 152, 191, 193, 194, 196, 201 , 203, 204, 206, 
207, 210, 211, 216, 217, 218, 219, 222, 223, 231, 232, 233 

Subsistence Department 338, 339, 

340, 341, 342, 344, 345, 346, 348, 349, 350, 355, 356, 357 

Medical Department 416, 

417, 418, 419, 423, 424, 427, 428, 429, 436, 437 

Pay Department 469, 472, 473, 474, 478 

Corps of Engineers 485, 486, 487, 488, 489, 

490, 491, 494, 495, 496, 497, 509, 510, 513, 526, 527, 529 

Corps of Topographical Engineers 499, 502 

Ordnance Department 548, 577, 

578, 579, 583, 584, 586, 590, 591, 592, 594, 596, 604, 605 

Signal Corps 613, 614, 616, 618, 623, 624, 625, 626 

Volunteer Signal Corps 625 

Department of Musters 633, 635 

Provost-Marshal-General's Bureau 667, 677 

respecting, of hospital surgeons 366, 399 

of medical officers, how arranged 413, 433 

no, aimexed to officers in Department o{ M ilitary Stores 552 

appointments on civil staff confer no, in the Army 635 

mentioned 185, 323, 416, 434, 456, 494, 566, 650 

Rapalje, , 

mentioned 364 

Rations (see Subsistence money; Subsistence stores), 

allowance of, to general and line officers . . 11, 20, 25, 67, 70, 240, 243, 332, 496, 681 

officers of the Adjutant-General's Department 56, 

60, 61, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 70, 71, 74 

Inspector-General's Department 90, 

92, 94, 96, 104, 105, 106 

Judge-Advocate-General's Department 124, 

125, 126, 127, 128 

Department of Stores and Supplies 248 

Purchases 262, 304, 305, 317 

Issues 262 

Hides 298 

Militarv Stores 551, 

552, 557, 661, 662, 666, 667 



INDEX. 775 

Rations — Continued. Page. 

allowance of. to oflScers of tlie Clothier's Department 248, 267, 296, 323 

Quartermaster's Department. . . 146, 162, 183, 184, 
185, 188, 189, 191, 192, 196, 197, 198, 199, 208, 324 

Medical Department 373, 388, 397, 399, 400, 

401, 402, 405, 406, 407, 408, 411 

Pay Department 446, 447, 449, 455, 458, 459 

Corps of Engineers 486, 492, 497 

Ordnance Department 577, 579 

Department of Musters 633 

Prisoners of War 639, 650, 651 

corps of artificers 164, 198 

artillery artificers 550, 553 

geographers 325, 494, 495 

paymaster's clerks 470 

superintendents of armories 575, 581 

superintendent of bakers 253, 281 , 318 

company of bakers 281 

sappers and miners 504 

topographical engineer soldiers 509 

master armorers 575, 581 

hospital stewards 411 

wagon masters 188, 197, 324 

conductors 189, 324 

forage masters 197, 206, 224, 324 

artificers of Quartermaster's Department 324 

engineers 497 

wagoners 161, 163 

matrons 332, 423, 431, 689 

nurses 332, 417, 431, 439, 689 

employees of Department of Stores and Supplies 244, 245 

Ordnance Department 549, 577, 581 

established : 240, 

241, 242, 285, 295, 305, 328, 329, 330, 331, 333, 344, 345, 346, 351, 688, 689 

President authorized to make alterations in 338 

commutation price of 11, 14, 18, 26, 31, 35, 242, 261, 333, 450, 451 

(see Rum; Coffee; Sugar; Pepper), 

no officer to draw more than one 14 

compensation allowed for neglect to draw 21 

officers' servants entitled to 17, 25, 28 

one extra, allowed for every regimental coat turned 22 

additional, for every five years' service 29, 36, 412 

back, not allowed 30 

to disabled officers when retired 32 

officers in the field permitted to purchase 35, 39 

increased commutation of, when not allowed 36 

pay of officers to be in full of longevity 37 

respecting purchase of, on credit 35, 41 , 687 

half a, allowed for cutting wood for hospitals 190 

of soap may be increased 265 

cost of each part of a, to be computed 277 

commanders of armies to determine, to be issued 288 

of flour reduced 300 

officers to be furnished twd, per day 311 

not to draw, on public account 322 

respecting contracts made for supplying 327, 328 

to troops on the frontiers augmented 329, 330, 352 

officers' servants not soldiers 333 

detachments of seamen and marines 337 

various issues of, authorized 341, 348, 349, 350, 353, 354, 355, 356 

payment of connnutation of, to prisoners of war 348 

vegetables added to the 354 

respecting, for released prisoners of war 642, 644 

prisoners o-f war 643, 645 

mentioned 17, 

19, 20, 21, 56, 58, 98, 184, 227, 245, 249, 252, 260, 261, 272, 287, 296, 306, 
311, 322, 323, 324, 325, 382, 397, 398, 405, 455, 471, 475, :^>m, 591, 634, 640 
Rawhides (see Commissary op hides), 

respecting manufacture of shoes from 270, 274 



776 INDEX. 

Eeading, Pa., Page. 

respecting escape of prisoners of war from 650 

Rebellion {see Badges; Uniform), 

modified oatli for those who participated in late 682 

Confederate officers not ehgible to appointment in the Army 683 

Recruiting agents, 

respecting, in the Southern States 677, 680 

Recruits, 

not subject to draft, how credited 680 

Red coats, 

officers forbidden to wear. 19 

Reed, George, 

member of committee 540 

mentioned 160 

Reed, Joseph, 

elected adjutant-general 55 

appointment announced 55 

mentioned 3, 51 

Reed, Thomas, 

appointed assistant paymaster-general 449 

elected deputy paymaster-general at Albany 453 

mentioned 453 

Reed, William, 

elected hospital physician 394 

Reedy Island, Pa., 

respecting dike between, and Sistons Point 526 

Refugees (see Bureau of Refugees and Freed:\ien), 

respecting issue of provisions and fuel to 655 

medical stores, etc. , to 657 

lands set apart for use of 656 

Regimental surgeons, 

respecting, and mates absent without leave 372 

mentioned '. 373 

Regiments {see Uniform), 

commanders of, not to muster their own commands 98 

to report health of their troops 369 

members of, to receive an extra ration for every coat turned 22 

respecting colors of 143 

transportation of tents of 187 

surgeons of volunteer 413 

not belonging to any State line 395 

to send officers to buy arms 538, 539 

respecting requisitions for arms, etc., for 568 

mentioned 391,456,559 

Register (see Army Register). 

Regnier, , 

appointed subinspector 94 

assigned to Generals Clinton' s and Stark' s 1 )rigades 94 

Regulations (see General Regulations), 

for the exercise of the troops 90, 92, 96 

muster and inspection 96 

to be approved by Congress 99 

commissary and clothier's departments 286 

department of hides 1 285, 297 

military stoies 552 

Quartermaster's Department 155, 157, 186 

Corps of Engineers 490 

Ordnance Department 581, 597 

corps of wagoners 161, 162, 451, 635 

government of hospitals 404, 405 

issue of artificial limbs 425 

relative to prisoners of war 651 

mentioned 91, 93, 677 

Remick, Timothy, 

to do duty of inspector 100 

Rent, 

of buildings in Virginia and at Philadelphia and West Point 571 

land set apart for refugees and freedmen 656 



INDEX. 777 

Repairs, Page. 

to old Ford's Theater 525 

house in which Mr. Lincohi died 528 

Reports, 

by oflficers of the Adjutant-General's Department 55 

department of purchases and issues 245 

clothier's department 326 

Quartermaster's Department 143 

Hospital Department 368 

Ordnance Department 578, 580, 596 

department of musters 632 

Signal Office 614, 616 

Bureau of Freedmen and Refugees 656 

colonels of regiments 369 

on condition of the branches of the War Department 190, 

327, 328, 457, 569, 570, 571 

mentioned 451, 675, 676 

Resignation, 

officers leaving their post prior to acceptance of, deemed deserters 32, 33 

Resistance, 

to draft, how punished 673 

Resolves of Congress, 

repealed 20, 65, 96, 127, 162, 184, 186, 318, 321, 323, 379, 397, 455, 566, 567 

in part 64, 102, 183, 389, 567 

relative to the government of the Army to be compiled 14 

Hospital Department to be revised 382 

mentioned 381, 382, 397, 451, 455, 565 

Retired list {see Pay; Rations; Uniform), 

officers may be placed on the, after 30 years' service 37, 39 

40 years' service 32, 39 

45 years' service 34, .39 

on reaching the age of 64 42 

paymasters may be placed on the, after 20 years' service 476 

officers on the, may be assigned to certain duties 32 

entitled to longevity rations 36 

not to be assigned to duty 36 

eligible for duty at the Soldiers' Home 37, 40 

disabled for active service to be placed on the 32, 39 

by wounds to be placed on the, with highest rank 35 

to be placed on the, with actual rank 38 

on the, withdrawn from promotion 32, 39 

may be employed in time of war 45 

eligible to Territorial offices 685 

respecting officers on the, who had served as chiefs of staff corps 47, 

82, 118, 136, 2.34, 358, 479, 606, 627 
Returns, 

by the Secretary of War 184, 326, 401 

officers of the Adjutant-General's Department 55, 57 

Inspector-General's Department 102 

department of stores and supplies 245, 246, 249 

purchases 260, 284, 303, .305, .309, 312, 336 

issues 200, 303 

military stores 568, 569 

hides 270, 321 

clothiers' department 247, 299, 322, 326 

Hospital Department 306, 311, 366, 

369, 372, 373, 378, 382, 385, 386, 388, 390, 396, 397, 399, 401 

Pay Department 446 

Quartermaster's Department 143, 144, 148, 149, 150, 

161, 165, 169, 172, 174, 175, 176, 178, 183, 188, 190, 200, 318 

Ordnance Department 577, 578, 580 

department of musters 632, 633 

prisoners of war 639, 642, 645, 647 

respecting uniformity of, under contracts 419, 432, 509, 517, 590, 597, 686, 687 

States to make, of purchases for the United States 167 

by line officers receiving camp and garrison equipage 204 

mentioned 58,196,230, 

257, 258, 259, 354, 435, 491, 492, 526, 551, 553, 565, 568, 603, 634, 686, 687 



778 INDEX. 

Reviews, Page. 

how conducted 88, 100, 101 

Revised Statutes, 

provision of section 355 of the, waived 232 

section 229 abolished 230 

1144 mentioned 622 

11^4 repealed 474 

1206 and 1207 mentioned 623 

1218 amended 685 

1348 amended 115 

1756 repealed 685 

1860 amended 685 

Revolutionary war {see Badges). 
Reward, 

for best covering for huts 154 

rawhide substitute for shoes 274 

Rhode Island, 

uniform of the line 15 

quota of, to be furnished in forage 166 

how paid for 166 

provisions 306, 312 

how paid for 307, 312 

when deliverable 307, 314 

requested to collect saltpeter and brimstone 535 

mentioned 58,154,164,278,449,635 

Rice, 

importation of, authorized 250 

quota of South Carolina to be furnished in 307 

how paid for 307 

Rice, Nathan, 

appointed inspector 95 

Richardson, James, 

pay and rations allowed to, as clerk 244 

Richardson, William, 

mentioned 264, 634 

RicKMAN, William, 

elec-ted director of hospital in Virginia 365 

mentioned 375, 376, 391 

Rifles, 

to be procured 546, 547 

respecting adoption of new 602, 603 

Ripley, James W., 

mentioned 534 

RiSBERG, GUSTAVUS, 

appointed assistant to Deputy Quartermaster-General Biddle 144 

Rittenhouse, , 

mentioned 485 

Rivers, 

respecting surveys of, and harbors 519, 522 

Roads [see Cumberland road; National road), 

respecting surveys, etc. , upon the subject of 500 

to be cut in Florida 501 

contracted in Arkansas 501 

Roberdeau, Daniel, 

member of committee 253 

Roberdeau Isaac, 

mentioned 484 

Robinson, 

mentioned 65 

Robinson, Caleb, 

to do the duty of inspector 100 

Rochefontaine, Stephen, 

mentioned 483 

Rochester, William B., 

mentioned 443 

Rock Island, III., 

an arsenal established at 591 



INDEX. 779 

Rock Island Arsenal, Page, 

mentioned 524 

Rodney, C^sar, 

member of coiimiittee _ 289, 536 

Roe, James, 

appointed deputy commissaiy-jieneral of purchasew 265 

Roe, Jesse, 

com missioned captain of artillery artificers 549 

Rogers, John, 

member of committee 538 

Rolls (see Pay; Muster rolls). 
Root, Jesse, 

mentioned 102, 163, 298 

RosEKRANs, James, 

to do the duty of brigade inspector 96 

Ross, , 

mentioned 63 

Ross, George, 

member of committee 247, 249 

mentioned 146, 250 

RuBSAMEN, Jacob, 

mentioned 566 

RucKER, Daniel H., 

mentioned 140 

Ruddock, John, 

appointment of, as deputy commissary of military stores, confirmed 568 

Rudolph, Michael, 

mentioned 51 , S5 

RuGGLES, George B., 

mentioned 52 

Rules and Articles of War {see Articles of War). 
Rum, 

issue of, to troops in battle of Brandywine 268 

to be procured 278 

for distribution to the people of New York 300 

quotas of States to be furnished in 306, 307, 312, 313 

how paid for 307 

when deliverable 314, 315 

regulating issue of, to the Army 310 

mentioned 333 

Rumsey, Benjamin, 

member of committee 255 

Rush, Ben.iamin, 

member of committee 246, 367 

elected surgeon -general of hospital in middle department 873 

physician-general of hospital in middle department 375 

resignation accepted 376 

mentioned 361, 366, 375, 378 

Rutgers, Jr., Henry, 

appointed deputy commissary-general of musters 635 

RuTLEDGE, Edward, 

member of committee 540 

Ryan, Michael, 

to do duty as brigade major 58 

relieved from temporary duty as adjutant-general 58 

appointed brigade inspector 89 



8. 

Sabine Lake, 

channel through, to be reexamined 528 

Sackett, Delos B., 

mentioned 86 

Sacramento River, Cal., 

relative to improvement of the 526 



780 INDEX. 

Saddle hohses, T&ge. 

number of, allowed general and line officers 187, 188, 189, 494 

officers of the Adjutant-General's Department.. 65, 188, 189 
Inspector-General's Department. 102, 188, 189 

Quartermaster's Department 174, 188, 189 

department of purcha,ses 317 

military stores. . . 188, 567, 568 

prisoners 188, 189 

hospital department 189, 399, 400 

judge-advocates 127, 188, 189 

deputy paymaster 188, 456 

geographers 189, 495 

provost-marshal 188 

captain of engineers 188, 494 

mentioned 90, 103 

Saddlers, 

attached to di\dsion ambulance corps 422 

St. Augustine, Fla., 

respecting improvement of harbor at 522 

St. Clair, Arthur, 

mentioned 20,51,56,57,100 

St. Francis River, Ark., 

mentioned 501 

St. Louis, Mo., 

quartermaster depot at, mentioned 217 

arsenal to be erected at or near 582 

proposed ice harbor at 519 

bridge to, over Mississippi River 526 

St. Martin, , 

appointed engineer with rank of lieutenant-colonel 486 

Sale, 

unauthorized, of public stores, how punished 150, 177, 308, 383, 561 

respecting, of articles of clothing 142, 221, 241 

goods taken from Philadelphia 161, 293 

horses unfit for service 172 

buildings and other property 178 

dragoon horses 190 

public property no longer needed 190, 326, 400, 568 

unserviceable stores 204, 260, 339, 340, 410, 582, 593 

woolen goods to soldiers 240 

subsistence supplies to officers and men 354, 685, 687 

articles kept by Subsistence Department 35, 349, 351, 684 

smooth-bore guns for experimental purposes 601 

surplus signal maps, etc 615, 616 

certain property of bureau of refugees, etc 662 

of certain stores stopped - - 569 

mentioned 505, 587 

Salisbury, Conn., 

respecting furnace at 543, 544, 549 

Salt, 

respecting manufacture of 239, 252, 262 

importation of, authorized 243, 261, 271, 278 

exportation of, prohibited 251 

to be provided - 254,260,275 

quotas of States to be furnished in 306, 307, 312, 313 

how paid for 307, 312, 313 

when deliverable 314, 315 

mentioned 262, 272, 275 

Saltpeter, 

colonies requested to collect 535 

respecting manufacture of 535, 537, 538, 539, 540, 566 

importation of, authorizei 1 536, 690 

purchase of, authorized -- 538 

exportation of, prohibited 573 

mentioned 540,690 

San Monica Bay, Cal., 

respecting a deep-water harbor on — 525 



INDEX. 781 

San Pedro Bay, Cal., Page, 

relative to proposed deep-water harbor on 525 

Sappers and miners (see Pay; Rations), 

authorized 489, 498, 503 

uniform of corps of 18, 21 

corps of, how organized 492 

respecting tools, implements, etc. , for 504 

mentioned 490, 493, 495, 504, 505 

Saratoga convention {see Prisoners of war). 

Sargent, Wintrop, 

mentioned 51, 85 

Sauerkraut, 

contracts to be made for supplies of 265 

Sawtelle, Charles G., 

mentioned 140 

ScAMMELL, Alexander, 

to continue to do duty as brigade major 53 

appointed temporary assistant to the adjutant-general 56 

elected adjutant-general 59 

mentioned 51 , 62, 100, 395 

School op instruction, 

respecting, at Fort Myer, Va 620 

School buildings, 

respecting sale of, under Bureau of Refugees and Freedmen 662 

Schreiber, Jacob, 

permitted to return to Europe 493 

Schuyler, Peter, 

appointment of, to take charge of the arms, confirmed : 539 

Schuyler, Philip, 

member of committee 17, 535 

to appoint a deputy adjutant-general for the Northern army if General 

Gates had not done so 58 

to appoint a deputy judge-advocate if General Gates had not done so 124 

mentioned. ... 17, 53, 54, 142, 143, 240, 241, M2, 248, 252, 364, 537, 539, 543, 545, 632 

Scott, , 

to do the duty of division inspector 95 

mentioned 95, 100 

Scott, Charles, 

mentioned 55, 57, 89 

Scott, Joseph, 

appointed brigade major 59 

Scott, Moses, 

appointed hospital physician and surgeon 389 

resignation accepted 390 

mentioned 395 

Scott, William, 

appointed brigade major 62 

Scudder, Nathaniel, 

member of committee 283, 291 

mentioned 159, 163, 298 

Scull, Peter, 

appointed brigade major 54 

Sea coast, 

respecting notice on the, of approach of storms 614 

Seamen, 

respecting enlistment of certain, prisoners of war 642 

drafted, may enlist in the naval service 671, 672 

respecting issue of rations to detachments of 337 

Searle, James, 

member of committee 291 

Sears, Peter, 

commissioned second lieutenant in regiment of artillery artificers 559 

Secretaries (see Pay), 

allowed to Inspector-General of main Army 96, 100, 107 

Secretary op War, 

to inquire into delays in forwarding supplies 185, 324 

make return to Congress of officers in Quartermaster's Department 184 



782 INDEX. 

Secretary of War — Continued. Page. 

to transmit to States a list of their officers 23 

issue warrants for pay and rations 20, 455 

brevet commissions to specified class of officers 23 

examine all estimates and returns 20 

provide guards for safe conveyance of money, etc 184 

prescribe kinds and amounts of supplies to be purchased 200 

control all transportation 210 

direct building and management of barracks, magazines, etc 184, 565 

distribution of clothing 323 

cause returns to be made of all stores and property 326, 401, 569 

appoint a commissary of military stores subject to his orders 567 

stop the sale of certain stores 569 

submit returns of ordnance and ordnance stores 569 

take direction and care of prisoners of war 649, 650 

mentioned 21, 66, 188, 190, 

191, 323, 324, 396, 398, 401, 455, 456, 489, 495, 566, 568, 570, 650, 651 
Secret committee (see Committees op Congress), 

to provide equipage for 3,000 horse * 147 

deliver linen in their hands fit for tents 148 

import certain enumerated goods and stores 243 

cargoes of salt 243 

stop exportation of salted provisions from New York 245 

devise means of procuring deerskins 246 

appoint trusty persons to purchase clothing 250 

deliver part of cargo of the Mercury to the clothier-general 252 

furnish clothier-general copies of invoices of all imported clothing, etc. 253 
enable agents in Europe and the West Indies to effect imi)ortation of salt. 261 

contract for converting flour into biscuits 264 

import medical instruments and supplies 365 

forward medical supplies, etc. , to points indicated 365 

contract for importation of military stores 536, 537, 538 

export produce for importation of arms 537, 539 

deliver saltpeter to be manufactured into gunpowder 540 

powder to prove cannon 540 

of secret correspondence, to apply for the use of one or more of the Conti- 
nental fleet 540 

to furnish powder to cannon committee 543 

deliver all amis, etc., in their care to the board of war 543 

distribute cargo of flints 543 

procure brass artillery 544 

arms for 3,000 horse 544 

reports of 146, 543 

Seeds, 

respecting, for regimental gardens 326 

Seely, T., 

appointed brigade-major 60 

Selman, , 

to do the duty of brigade-major 62 

mentioned 62 

Senter, Isaac, 

mentioned 366 

Sentries, 

watch coats to be purchased for use of 142 

Sergeant, Jonathan, 

member of committee 540 

Sergeant, Jonathan D., 

mentioned 124 

Sergeant, Samuel, 

commissioned superintendent of public; works at Carlisle 549 

pay of 549 

Sergeants, 

master workmen to be designated as 590, 596 

two signal, to be commissioned each year 617, 619 

Servants {.see Waiters), 

allowances to enlisted youths retained as 17 

not to be furnished from the line without authority 20 

*An old technical term meaning a body of cavalry. In this sense the word ' ' horse " is in the singular. 



INDEX. 783 

Servants — Continued. Page, 

respecting employment of and allowances for. . 27, 28, 34, 36, 64, 126, 127, 567, 650 

officers absent exceeding six months not to receive allowances for 32 

claims for quarters for, not allowed 684 

mentioned 37, 317, 325, 400, 495," 562, 682 

Services. 

contracts for, how made 208, 209, 343, 344, 415, 507, 508, 589 

Service, 

length of, how computed 36, 438 

Sewall, , 

to do duty of brigade inspector 99 

Shallops, 

impressment of, authorized 270 

Shaw, Samuel, 

appointed brigade-ujajor 57 

Sheepskins, 

to whom deliveral)le. 311, 322, 562, 565 

Shells, 

contracts for, to Iw made 540, 554, 560 

Sherman, Roger, 

mentioned 142, 241, 253, 254 

Shetfall, Mordecai, 

appointed, provisionally, deputy commissary-general of issues 291 

Ship canal, 

near Isthmus of Darien 506 

to connect certain lakes with Puget Sound 524 

Shippen, William, Jr., 

elected physician for the flying camp 366 

to superintend an army hospital in New Jersey 368 

elected director-general of all the hospitals 373 

director-general 389 

mentioned 361, 362, 367, 368, 375, 383, 390 

Ships {see Vessels), 

duties of masters of, taking prisoners 646 

mentioned 146, 240, 248, 286, 537, 541, 543, 555 

Shiras, Alexander E., 

mentioned 238 

Shirts {see Linen), 

respecting distribution of small supply of 125, 304, 382, 446, 447, 491, 635, 636 

delivery of two, per man to be shortly made 325 

on hand to be drawn for by lot 325 

linen for, to be imported 263 

States requested to procure materials for 263 

suiDplies of 275 

mentioned 263, 285, 326, 376 

Shoes, 

to be inspected 142 

exchange of rawhides for, authorized 263 

reward for best rawhide substitutes for 274 

leather and deerskins to be purchased for making 274 

to be procured 285 

States requested to procure supplies of 275 

not to be M'orn in powder magazines 567 

mentioned 153, 285, 376 

Shot, 

contracts for, to be made 554, 560 

Sick, 

respecting transportation for the removal of the 179 

blankets, etc. , for the, in hospitals 273 

care and accommodation for the 369 

relief of the, before removal to hospitals 380 

number of, in hospitals to be reported 368, 390 

respecting relief of the transient 390 

ambulances for the removal of the 421 

mentioned 422 

Signal Bureau, 

not to duplicate work of other bureaus 618 



784 INDEX. 

Signal Corps {see Volunteer Signal Corps; Vacancies), Page. 

how organized 613, 623, 626 

enlisted strength of the 613, 615, 617, 618, 620, 621, 622, 623, 625 

officers and men of the, how selected 614 

may purchase subsistence stores '. 622 

enlisted men of the, may be mounted 616 

held responsible for public property 621 

two sergeants of the, to be commissioned each year 617, 619 

respecting details of line officers for duty in the 618, 619, 620, 321, 622 

civilian duties of the, transferred to Weather Bureau 622 

appointments and promotions in the, how made 623 

appropriations for the, how made 623 

board to examine classes and kinds of property of the 623 

in time of war enlisted strength of the, to be increased 625 

ten volunteer subalterns to be appointed in the 626 

mentioned 624, 626 

Signal flags, 

by whom furnished 186 

Signal officers {see Vacancies), 

authorized 613 

how selected 614 

to be examined 613 

engineer officers may be detailed as 614, 616 

respectiuii- detail of line officers for duty as 618, 619, 620, 621, 622 

may be assigned to staff of Army corps 625 

after civil war to be restored to respective commands 614 

mentioned .> 624, 626 

Signals, 

respecting, for benefit of agriculture and commerce 614, 616 

of approach of storms on the lakes and seacoast 614, 616 

Signal Service, 

respecting enlistments in the 615 

details of engineer officers and men for the 614, 616 

appropriations for the 620 

commutation of quarters for members of the, in arctic regions . 690 
commission to consider present organization of the 619 

Signatures {see Autograph signatures). 

SiMMS, , 

to superintend the hospitals in Pennsylvania 380 

Sioux City, Iowa, 

respecting improvement of the INIissonri River to 528 

Skinner, Abraham, 

elected commissary-general of prisoners 648 

mentioned 637 

Slaves, 

respecting, drafted or enlisted 675, 676 

Smith, , 

appointed inspertor 95 

Smith, , 

mentioned 145 

Smith, Campbell, 

mentioned 121 

Smith, Daniel, 

appointed assistant deputy piuveym 395 

Smith, John K., 

appointed brigade-major 60 

inspector 89 

continued in the office of brigade-major 66 

Smith, Johnson, 

commissioned contractor for public works at Carlisle, I'a 549 

Smith, Mathew, 

appointed deputy adjutant-general 59 

Smith, Jonathan B., 

elected deputy mustermaster-general for the flying camp 632 

mentioned 1 254, 632 

Smith, Meriwether, 

member of commitiee 14, 15 



INDEX. 785 

Smith, William, Page, 

cominiied as subinspector 99 

Smith, William, 

member of committee 253 

Smith, William, 

mentioned 443 

Smith, William, 

elected druggist 367 

Smith, William S., 

appointed commissary of prisoners 651 

Smyth, Alexander, 

mentioned 86 

Soap, 

(exportation of, forbidden 251 

ration of, may be increased 265 

contracts to be made for supplies of 265 

Societies {see Military societies). 

Soldiers' Home, 

retired officers eligible for duty at the 37 

board of commissioners of the, how composed 75, 

78, 79, 133, 208, 228, 343, 352, 353, 414, 432, 433, 470 

respecting inspections of the 114 

medical supplies to be sold to the, at cost 436 

South, 

respecting issues of ]>rovisions to destitute ])ersons in the 661 

South Carolina, 

uniform of the, line 15 

quota of, to be furnished in forage 166 

how paid for 166 

provisions 307 

when deliverable 307 

purchase of leather in, authorized 300 

requested to collect saltpeter and brimstone 535 

mentioned 124, 291, 382, 394, 395, 451, 452, 558, 571, 632, 635, 648 

Southern Army, 

respecting appointment of staff officers for the 17, 

103, 127, 183, 186, 317, 392, 394, 455, 493, 567, 644, 650 

magazines of forage to be provided for the 179 

tents and wagons for the, to be furnished 180 

corps of pioneers to be raised for the 184 

res])ecting delays in sending supplies to the 185, 324 

clothing, camp equipage, etc. , to be furnished the 318 

to be provided with arms, powder, etc 563 

respecting artificers with the 563 

commander of, authorized to make exchanges 644 

mentioned 175, 180, 183, 184, 185, 187, 188, 189, 392, 455 

Southern Department, 

respecting appointment of staff officers 54, 61, 62, 143, 159, 370, 395, 485, 631 

Peruvian bark to be sent to the 365, 367 

trepanning instruments to be sent to the 365 

• respecting hospitals in the 389 

an inspector of contracts to be appointed for the 398 

mentioned 448, 491 

Southern States, 

a magazine of ammunition to l)e formed in the 545 

respecting recruiting agents in certain 677 

Spanish-American war, 

mentioned 48, 438, 686 

Spanish prisoners, 

respecting provision for the, in New York 645 

Si'ENSEK, Joseph, 

Congress confirmed his appointment of William Peck as deputy adjutant- 
general 58 

mentioned 53, 55, 56 

Spenser, Oliver, 

to superintend hospitals in Jersey 383 

mentioned 390, 493 

S. Doc. 229 50 



786 INDEX. 

Spirits, }'^se. 

respecting allowance of coffee and sugar in lien of 341 

Spoons, 

to be supplied to the soldiers 687 

Spouts (see Leaden spouts). 

Springfield, Mass., 

magazine and laboratory ti > 1 )e erected in 547 

mentioned 560, 565, 570, 571 , 572 

Springfield Armory, 

mentioned 581, 584, 585, 592 

Sprogle, Lodowig, 

authorized to muster the Pennsylvania militia 635 

Sprout, 

appointed brigade inspector 89 

subinspector 94 

Stables, 

for horses of members of Congress 156 

number of horses in the public, to be reported 147 

Stadler, John, 

elected engineer for Southern Department 485 

Staff {see Volunteer staff; Subsistence money), 

appointment on the civil, confers no rank in the Army 14, 635 

respecting apjiointment, on the conferring rank equal to that held in the 

line • - 30 

may be taken from the line or from citizens 28 

servants allowed to the general and military 20 

respecting transfers to the, from the line 26, 39, 73 

powers and duties of the general, to be defined 27 

promotions in the, how made 31, 39 

of corps, divisions and brigades, how constituted 79, 116, 

134, 231, 436, 526, 604, 625 

brigadier assigned to main army to act as chief of 109 

Avarrant officers on the civil, liable to arrest and trial 161, 293, 380, 490, 558 

mentioned - - 28, 110, 613 

Staff departments _(*•«(; Vacancies), 

inquiry to be made into expenses of the 17 

enlisted men in the, entitled to benefit of pension laws 208, 342, 413, 504, 568 

respecting infantry sul>alterns appointed in the 185, 323, 455, 494, 566, 650 

mentioned 21, 175 

Staff officers, 

appointed from the line to revert to it on promotion 14 

not to draw more than one ration a day 14 

supernumerary, may be d ischarged 14,17 

form of commission for 14 

to receive one additional ration for every five years' service 29, 412 

unnecessarv, to be f urloughed 23 

to be citizens - 70, 108, 195, 407 

entitled to clothing if they engage for one vear or more 3S0 

mentioned ^- .": 13, 68, 70, 1 06, 108, 195, 304, 403, 407, 459 

Stagg, John, 

appointed brigade-major pro tempore - - 59 

mentioned - 60, 85, 1 03 

Stamps, 

special, for official business 38 

Stanton, Thomas H., 

mentioned 443 

Stark, John, 

mentioned - 56, 94, 95, 100 

Staten Island, N. Y. U., 

improvement ( )f channel 1 )etMeen, and New Jersey — 513 

State prison, 

respecting erection of Symsbury mines into a — <iI9 

State, War, and Navy building, 

respecting construction of the 513 

superintendent of the, authorized - 519 

States, 

authorized to suspend staff officers not appointed by Congress 13 



INDEX. 787 

States — Continued. Page. 

requested to make up deficiency of subsistence money 14 

additional pay 22 

respecting compensation by the, in lieu of half pay 23 

to be notified of detail of volunteers on ambulance duty 76 

requested to grant writs on application of judge-advocate - 125 

compel the furnishing of supplies 145 

afford assistance in procuring tent cloth 147 

forage 1 59 

clothing, etc 251,275,277,299 

enforce a temporary regulation of prices 153, 274, 550 

exempt certain persons from militia duty 163, 283 

inquire into conduct of persons in public service 163, 297 

furnish their quota of supplies 165, 304 

make provision for pasturing horses 175 

furnish forage 180 

cause assessment of blankets to be made 252 

procure homemade linen 263 

take measures against engrossers and others 273, 275, 276, 289 

aid in enforcing embargo 286- 

furnish list of prices current in 1774 305 

report names of their purchasing agents 317 

appoint examining medical boards 36s 

inspectors of powder 542 

persons to manufacture accouterments 553, 554 

collect arms from persons not in service 545, 546 

make no exchanges of prisoners 645 

quotas of, to be furnished in forage 166, 167 

provisions 306, 307, 312, 313, 314, 315 

resj^ecting persons in the, who have failed to take the oath of office. 154, 279, 377 

appointment of deputy quartermasters in the several 167 

stands ( if arms to be provided for sale to the 574 

relief to destitute persons in the Southern and Southwestern 660 

respecting recruiting agents in the Southern 677, 680 

mentioned 19, 126, 165, 169, 188, 247, 251, 262, 273, 288, 

293, 294, 296, 299, 301, 304, 370, 394, 395, 544, 545, 547, 551, 639, 640, 64t) 
Steel, 

to be purchased 545 

respecting manufacture of 550 

regulates price of oil-tempered and annealed 604 

conduct of experiments in testing 513 

Steel guns, 

contract for, authorized - 602 

Steel-wire seacoast guns, 

material for, may be purchased 604 

Sternberg, George M., 

mentioned 362 

Steuben, Frederick W. A., 

appointed inspector-general 89 

appointment announced to the Army 90 

to be furnished two good horses for his use 90 

continued inspector-general of the armies of the United States 99, 102 

granted additional pay 102 

in accepting resignation of. Congress tendered him their thanks and 

voted him a sword 103 

mentioned 93,94,100,490 

Stevenson, , 

to superintend the hospitals in Jersey 380 

Stewart, Archibald, 

elected deputy commissary-general of issues 265 

resigned 266 

Stewart, Charles, 

elected commissary-general of issues 263 

mentioned 238, 316 

Stewart, Walter, 

appointed inspector for the Northern Aimy 103 

Stiles, Reuben, 

pay and rations allowed tn, as magazine keeper 244 



788 INDEX. 

Stirling, Lord, Page, 

mentioned 55, 60, 90 

Stock, 

States requested to authorize seizure of live 276 

superintendent of live, authorized 317 

Stockings, 

importation of 252 

States requested to procure supplies of 275 

to be purchased 142 

respecting, for the sick and wounded in hospitals 376 

mentioned 285 

Stockton, Richard, 

member of committee 246, 247, 367 

Stone, Thomas, 

member of committee 247 

Storehouses, 

respecting impressment of 270 

Storekeepers (.s^e Military; Medical; Ordnance storekeepers), 

authorized 167, 186, 363, 364, 370, 387 

appointed 142, 143 

duties of 317, 318 

pay of certain 244 

post quartermaster-sergeants to perform the duties of 229 

mentioned 571 

Stores (we Public stores). 

Storev, John, 

respecting pay and rations of 183 

to settle business of the late Quartermaster-General's Department 183 

appointed to take charge of all intrenching tools 157 

Storms, 

respecting notice of approacli « if 614, 616 

Storrovv, Samuel H., 

mentioned - 121 

Strape, Henry, 

commissioned lieutenant in regiment of artillery artificers 554 

Straw, 

to be provided for the troops 145, 153, 154 

two bundles of, per tent to be issued 186 

Streets, 

cost of improving certain, in Washington City, liy whom paid 510 

Stringer, Samuel, 

appointed director of hospital and chief physician and surgeon 364 

director and phvsician of hospital in Northern Department 367 

mentioned ' 240, 361, 364, 366, 367, 369 

Stroup, Henry, 

resignation accepte<l 562 

Sturgeon Bay, 

mentioned 520 

Subsistence, 

certain accounts of, how signeil 22, 325 

abstracts of, to whom sent 325 

respecting contracts for 209, 339, 343, 344, 415, 416, 589, 590 

for prisoners of war 642, 643 

Subsistence Department [nee Vacancies; Contracts; Purchases), 

how constituted 338, 348, 349, 350, 356, 357 

increased 341, 342, 344, 345 

respecting sales by, to officers and men 35, 349, 351, 354, 684 

no new appointments or promotions to be made in the 349 

appointments in the, how made 355 

appropriations for the, to constitute one fund 357 

respecting details for dutv in the 357, 358 

mentioned " 348, 350, 351 , 354 

Subsistence money, 

allowance of, to officers 14, 15, 20, 21, 164, 325, 380, 381, 382, 453, 559, 566 

enlisted men 15, 164, 381, 453 

mentioned 19 

Subsistence stores, 

respecting claims for, furnished 347 

to be provided for an army of 3,000 men for six nioiitlis 242 

resjiecting capture of vessels laden with 240, 241 



INDEX. 789 

Substitutes, Page. 

drafted men may furnish 669, 671 

to receive same pay as drafted men 670 

who may be accepted aa 671, 680 

mentioned 675, 678, 679 

Suffering, 

no one to be deemed, wlio is able to find work 657 

Sugar, 

respecting distribution of, to the people of New York 300 

ratio of, to every 100 rations 341, 343, 351 

ration of, may be commuted 345, 351 

Sullivan, John, 

mentioned 99 

Sullivan, Thomas C, . 

mentioned 238 

Sulphur, 

colonies requested to collect , 535 

respecting importation of 536, 537, 550, 690 

manufacture of 540 

removal of the, in New York City 690 

exportation of, prohibited 573 

Superintendent-General of military supplies {see Purveyor of public supplies), 
to prescribe forms of returns and accounts 199, 336, 578 

Superintendent of artificers, 

authorized; how appointed; duties of 198 

Superintendent of finance, 

authorized to make removals 181,319, 393, 492, 563 

to procure or contract for all supplies 183, 321, 322, 394, 564 

appoint inspectors of contracts 185, 323, 398, 566 

report cause of delays in forwarding supplies 185, 324 

ascertain value of ration 454 

establish magazines at Fort Pitt 324 

provide for safe-keeping, etc. , of prisoners of war 649 

mentioned 566, 569 

Superintendent op military stores, 

duties of 577 

Superintendent {see Military Academy; National cemeteries), 

of bakers appointed 253 

pay of 318 

magazines of provisions authorized 280 

cattle mentioned 305 

live stock authorized 317 

appointments of line officers as, of hospitals. . 380, 381, 382, 383, 390, 394, 395, 400 

of arms and military accouterments appointed 554 

armories authorized 572 

respecting a, of a brass cannon foundry 553 

office of, at certain armories abolished 585 

of manufacture of iron cannon authorized 585, 586 

respecting civilian, of armories 587, 588, 590 

authorized for the State, War, and Navy Building 519 

Superior, Wis., 

respecting harbor of 526 

Supplies {see Public supplies). 

Surgeon-(teneral {see Rank; Pay; Rations; Forac^e), 

authorized 371, 410, 423, 427, 429, 437 

appointed 373, 374, 375, 378 

how appointed 417, 424, 430 

duties of 371, 374, 417, 425, 426, 427, 428, 429, 430, 432, 435, 436, 438 

letters, etc., to and from, free of postage 412 

ex officio commissioner of the Soldiers' Home 432, 433 

Surgeons {see Hospital physicians; Hospital surgeons; Medical Depart- 
ment) , 

respecting issue of small supply of shirts and linen to 304, 382 

authorized in each district to superintend hospitals 371 

a senior, appointed in the flying hospital 382, 383 

appointed to regiment of invalids 390 

respecting j)romotion of regimental 395, 397 

numlier of post, established 410 

two, to be discharged 412 



790 . INDEX. 

SuRGEOxs — Continued. Page. 

discharge of two, revoked 413 

each brigade to have one 416 

to be detailed to the military prison 427 

number of assistant, reduced 428, 435 

{See Contract surgeons; Vacancies. ) 

respecting appointment of, and assistant surgeons 411, 429 

assistant, to be examined prior to promotion as captain 434 

respecting, on boards of enroUment 669, 670, 675, 676, 680 

detail of, for examination of drafted men 673 

garrison, to be considered as post surgeons 689 

mentioned 381, 398, 399 

Surgeons' mates [see Pay; Rations; Clothing; Forage; Land), 

may be appointed to regiment of invalids 390 

additional, authorized 401, 406 

to be attached to garrisons and posts 406 

mentioned 689 

Surgical instruments {see Trepanning instruments), v 

importation of, authorized 365 

returns of, to be made 369 

to be furnished every prescribing surgeon or physician 399 

Surveyor of ordnance, 

authorized ; how appointed ; duties of 558 

additional pay to 562 , 

Surveyor of roads {see Geographers) . 
Surveyors, 

military, to share in small supply of shirts and linen 304 

Surveys, 

respecting, of Chesapeake Bay _ 500 

for roads and canals 500 

of the coast of the United States. 503, 518 

preliminary 505, 517 

for railroad to the Pacific Ocean 506 

ship canal near Isthmus of Darien 506 

of Mississippi River 513, 526 

Western and NorthM^estern rivers 518, 528 

rivers and harbors 519, 521, 522 

for a national road to Mount Vernon, Va 523 

ship canal to connect certain lakes 524 

canal routes from Lake Erie to Ohio River 526 

deep waterways from the Great Lakes to the ocean 526 

mentioned 516 

Sutherland, Charles, 

mentioned 362 

Swaim, David G., 

mentioned 121 

Swain, Francis, 

appointed brigade major 58 

mentioned 59 

Swan, Caleb, 

mentioned 443 

SwARTWOUT, Robert, 

mentioned 140 

SwEERs, Cornelius, 

commissioned assistant commissary of military stores at Philadelphia 550 

mentioned 555 

Sweiney, James, 

commissioned second lieutenant of artillery artilicei's 549 

Swift, Joseph G., 

mentioned 483 

Swords, 

Pennsylvania to cause search for, in I'liiladelpliia 548 

Symsbury mines, 

respecting erection of the, into a State i)rison 649 

System, 

respecting, for rifles 603 

of easy maneuvers and exercises 89 

regulations ftjr the infantrv 93 



INDEX. 791 

T. 

Tactics, Page, 

system of, mentioned 93 

Tailors, 

employment of, authorized 250 

Talcott, George, 

mentioned 534 

Tallow, 

to be rendered - 249, 261 

exportation of, forbidden 251 

to whom delivered 261, 291 

of cattle delivered on foot, how credited 307 

Talmadge, Benjamin, 

to act as brigade major 56 

appointed brigade major 56 

Tarling, Peter, 

appointed brigade major 58 

Taulman, Peter, 

appointed captain lieutenant in tlie corps of sappers and miners 493 

Tax, 

States requested to lay a, partially payable in })rovisions 312 

Taylor, Andrew, 

to do duty as brigade major 55 

Taylor, John, 

appointed judge-advocate 1 23 

Tay'lor, Joseph P., 

mentioned - 238 

Teams {see Horse teams; Ox teams), 

respecting reduction of the stationary 158 

States requested to exempt drivers of, from militia duty 163 

how obtained i 260, 552 

TlOLEGRAPniC DISPATCHES, 

respecting private, on Government lines 617 

Telegraph lines, 

respecting construction of 615, 616 

Tennessee, 

respecting recruiting agents in 677, 680 

Tents, 

allowance of, to inspectors 99 

the troops. 162, 163 

respecting receipt and care of 142 

to be provided 145, 154 

respecting canvas for 146, 147, 148, 179, 181, 182, 253 

to be furnished the Southern army 180 

returns of, to be made - 326 

mentioned 155, 180, 186, 187 

Ternant, John, 

attached on the march, to General de La Fayette's division 60, 90 

appointed to act as subinspector 89 

lieutenant-colonel and to perform the duties of insiJector 92 

inspector for the Southern army 103 

mentioned 92, 179 

Territories, 

cost of ordnance and stores issued to, how credited 602 

only retired officers eligible to civil officers in the 685 

Testing machine, 

respecting use of, for private citizens 600 

Tests, 

respecting, of heavy rihed ordnance 593, 600 

for private citizens 600 

to l)e made of resistance of best stone forts to heaviest guns 511 

Texas, 

Safe, deep harbor on coast of, to V)e inspected 525 

Thanks of Congress, 

tendered to General Mifflin and Colonel Pickering 17 

Thomas, John, 

mentioned _ 53, 54 

Thomas, Joseph, 

pay and rations allowed to 245 



792 INDEX. 

Thomas, Loren/o, Page. 

mentioned 52 

Thornburg, Joseph, 

appointed wagon-master-general 152 

to have the rank of lieutenant-colonel 152 

TiCONDEROGA, N. Y., 

mentioned 147 

TiLGHMAN, ED^VARD, 

appointed assistant brigade major 55 

TiLTON, James, 

elected hospital physician and surgeon 389 

accepted commutation in lieu of half pay 401 

mentioned 362 

Tin, 

cartridge canisters may l)e furnished in lieu of cartouch boxes 554 

Tobacco, 

issue of, to enlisted men 35 

Tobacco warehouses, 

floors of, to be worked for saltpetei' 538 

Topographical Bureau, 

charged with making preliminary surveys 505 

officer of the, charged with construction of custom-house at New Orleans, 

entitled to extra compensation 505 

boards of officers of the - - - 505 

duties of, relative to certain light-houses 505, 500 

to construct certain range beacon lights - 505 

certain works to be executed under superintenence of the 504 

Topographical P'xgineers, 

authorized - - - - 499, 502 

how selected - 499 

retained in service 500 

detail of, to make explorations and surveys ■. 506 

to be promoted captains after fourteen years' service as subalterns 506 

mentioned 543, 505, 506 

Topographical engineer soldiers, 

company of, authorized 509 

Tools {see Intrenchinc^ tools), 

estimate of carpenters' , required , 145 

Torpedoes, 

respecting moval)le submarine 520, 599, 601 

ToTTEN, Joseph G., 

mentioned 483 

Towers, Robert, 

elected inspector of gunpowder 542 

Townsend, Edward D., 

mentioned - - 52 

Townshend, Davis, 

appointed hospital i)hysician and surgeon 389 

TowsoN, Nathan, 

mentioned 443 

Trade, 

interest in, forlMdden to officers of the Quartermaster's Department 196, 198 

Subsistence Department 334, 335, 338 

IIosi)ital or Medical Department. . 388 

Traders, 

respecting goods in, in York and (Gloucester, Ya 19 

Transfers {see Details), 

respecting, from the line to the staff. . . . 26, 72, 73, 109, 185, 201, 323, 494, 566, 650 

of officers of engineers 498 

artillery 584, 585 

ordnance 581 

men of the Signal Corps -_ 622 

drafted men to the naval service 671, 677 

Transportation {see Mileage; Traveling expenses), 

only actual cost of, al lowed 43 

to officers traveling without troops 43 

{See Impressment.) 

respecting, of public supplies 179, 182, 183, 321, 322, 387, 394, 552, 564 

contracts for 209, 343, 344, 415, 416, 507, 508, 589, 590 



INDEX. 793 

Transportation — Continued. Page. 

of troops and stores under control of Secretary of War 210 

to be furnished for having artificial limbs fitted 221 

requests for, how obtained 44, 46, 47 

to ])e furnished to drafted men 678 

Traveling allowances {see Mileage), 

to officers of the department of issues 248, 296 

respecting, to engineer officers 490 

Traveling expenses (see Mileage), 

only actual, allowed 38, 46, 47 

respecting, of inspectors 98 

certain California and Nevada volunteers 472 

TuAVELiNCi Forge, 

allowed to conductors of milita'ry stores 559 

division ambulance corps 422 

Treat, ^NIalachi, 

elected physician-general of hospital in Northern Department 374 

chief hospital physician 389 

mentioned 361 

Treasury Department {see Board of Treasury), 

all military supplies to be provided Ijy the 328, 402 

office of purveyor of public supplies created in the 329, 402 

Trenches, 

division inspectors to mount as majors of the 100 

Trenton, N. J., 

removal of public stores to, ordered 376, 548 

respecting improvement of Delaware River from 528 

mentioned 144, 541 

Trepanning instruments, 

sets of, to be sent to Southern Department 365 

Trial, 

warrant officers on the civil staff liable to 161, 293, 380, 490, 558, 644 

offices of departments of purchases and issues subject to 257 

Hospital or Medical Department subject to 388 

Transports, 

respecting food of troops on 689 

Troop, Robert, 

elected deputy adjutant-general in Northern Department 60 

mentioned 60 

Troops, 

allowance of tents to the 1 62, 163 

transportation of, under control of Secretary of War 210 

Trumbull, John, 

appointed brigade major 53 

elected deputy adjutant-general 56 

resignation accepted 57 

Trumbull, Jonathan, 

mentioned 272, 543, 544, 549 

Trumbull, Jonathan, Jr., 

elected paymaster for the forces in the New York Department 445 

pay increased 447, 449 

resigned 450 

Trumbull, Joseph, 

elected commissary -general of purchases 262 

asked leave to resign 265 

appointed commissary-general of stores and provisions 239 

empowered to import flour and other provisions 250 

additional allowance to, for the benefit of his heirs 295 

mentioned 3, 238, 242, 253, 264, 265 

Trusses, 

how obtained - 426, 430 

Tucker, Thomas Tudor, 

appointed physician and surgeon in the hospital for Southern Department. . 395 

Tudor, William, 

elected judge-advocate of the Army 123 

appointment of, announced to the Army 123 

to have rank of lieutenant-colonel 123 

mentioned 54, 121, 123, 124 



794 INDEX. 

Tunnel {see "Washington Aqueduct Tunnel), Page. 

under the Detroit River 524 

Tupper, , 

appointed brigade inspector 89 

TURNBULL, MaRMIE & Co., 

mentioned 327 

Turner, George, 

discharged from ofiice of commissar}' of prisoners 648 

mentioned 649 

Turner, Levi C, 

mentioned 121 

Turner, Philip, 

elected surgeon-general of hospital in Eastern Department 374 

appointed hospital physician and surgeon 389 

mentioned 361 

Tyson, J. W., 

mentioned 238 

U. 

Uniform {see Badges), 

of the several State lines 15, 18, 19, 21 

artillery and dragoons 1*S 21 

general and staff officers 18, 19 

cavalry and infantry 21 

wearing red coats forbidden 19 

respecting, of retired officers 32, 39, 40 

President to prescribe the 41, 225, 338 

when may be worn by late officers 48, 682 

vratch coats to be provided for sentries 142 

complete suits of, to be imported 251 , 252 

of State lines, by whom prescribed 295 

respecting, of members of ambulance corps 422 

"United Colonies," 

woi'ds, to be altered to ' ' United States ' ' in all commissions 11 

requested to procure suits of clothes for the troops 245 

"United States," 

Avords "United Colonies" to be altered to, in all commissions 11 

all arms and accouterments to be marked 546 

Utah, 

respecting California and Nevada volunteers discharged in 472 



Vacancies, 

President authorized to till certain 25 

in position of chiefs of staff corps, how tilled 47, 

81, 82, 118, 136, 234, 3.58, 479, 606, 624, 627 

respecting, in Adjutant-General's Department 74, 75, 76, 77, 79, 80, 81 

Inspector-General's Department 115, 117, 118 

Judge- Advocate-General' 3 Department 135, 136 

Quartermaster's Department 218, 227, 230, 233, 234 

Subsistence Department 346, 350, 353, 355, 357, 358 

Hospital Department 395, 397 

Medical Department 414, 419, 424, 427, 437, 439 

Pay Department 478, 479 

Corps of Engineers 527, 529 

Topographical Engineers 502 

Department of JNIilitary Stores 551 

Ordnance Department 605, 606 

Signal Corps 623, 624, 626, 627 

Bureau of Refugees and Freedmen 662 

Vaccination, 

of the troo])s to be discontinued 393 

Valises, 

respecting, furnished to officers - - - 160 

Vallenais, , 

appointed aid-de-c;unj) to Coloiu'l d;> la Bahne — 87 

Van Lear, William, 

appointed brigade iuspt'cti ir .• 95 



INDEX. 795 

Van Rexsselaek, James, Pacre. 

appointment of, as deputy inus^termaster-general of the forces in Canada 

confirmed (331 

Van Rensselaer, Philip, 

appointment of, as storekeeper, confirmed 143 

Varick, Richard, 

appointed deputy mustermaster-general to the Northern army 632 

elected deputy mustermaster-general 634 

Varxum, James, 

mentioned 390 

Varnum, James ^I., 

mentioned 59, 60, 89 

Vegetables, 

respecting, for the army 250, 257, 265 

garden near hospital for raising 368 

regimental gardens for raising 326 

one pound of, added to the ration 354 

Venereal diseases, 

amount to be paid by patients in Ik )spital on account of 376 

Vessels (.srf Ships), 

respecting impressment of 142 

bringing cargoes on government account 262 

employment of merchant 290, 291 

mentioned ". 213, 240, 278, 279, 289, 536, 537 

Vessels of war, 

respecting prisoners taken l)y 646 

enlistment of prisoners for service cm 642 

mentioned 240, 540 

Veteran Reserve Corps, 

officers of the, ia Bureau of Refugees may lie retained 657, 661 

"\'ETERIN A RI A NS, 

authorized ; pay of 233 

VicKERS, Samuel, 

appointed physician and surgeon in tlie liospital fdv.Soutlierji department. 395 

ViXEGAR, 

to be provided 254, 257, 265, 326 

Virginia, 

uniform of the, line 15 

quota of, to be furnished in forage 166 

how paid fur 166 

provisions 303, 313 

how paid for 307, 313 

when deliverable 315 

requested to authorize seizure of provisions in hands of engrossers 289 

not to grant exemptions from embargo 289 

to furnish Indian corn - - 303 

collect sulphur and brimstone 535 

purchase copper, etc 544 

lend stands of arms 558 

respecting military hospital in 375, 391 

tobacco warehouses in 538 

repair of arms in the magazines of 563 

mentioned 123, 156, 160, 248, 251, 271 , 272, 279, 285, 286, 290, 

297, 299, 365, 446, 447, 449, 540, 546, 560, 566, 571, 640, 643, 645, 649, 690 
Volunteer officers (.see Uniform), 

respecting appointment of, in the staff corps -16 

may be appointed on corps, division, and brigade staffs 45 

brevetted for services prior to appointment in Regular Army 36 

names of all, on ambulance duty to V)e reported 76 

respecting, to be appointed in the Quartermaster's Department 231 

Subsistence Department 348 

in Bureau of Refugees and Freedmen may be retained 661 

may be api)ointed in the Adjutant-General's Department 82 

Inspector-General's Department 118 

Judge- Advocate-General's Department 136 

Quartermaster's Department 218, 234 

Subsistence Department 356, 358 

Medical Department -124, 438 

Pay Department 478, 479 



796 INDEX. 

VoLirNTEERS, Page. 

respecting appointment of staff officers for 207, 342, 412, 467 

quartermaster's supplies retained from 686 

respecting hospital stewards of 438 

Volunteer Signal Corps, 

how constituted 625 

officers of the, eligible to appointment in Signal Corps 626 

Volunteer Staff, 

retention of officers of the, in the Adjutant-General's Department 80 

Inspector-General's Department 117 

Judge- Advocate-General's Department. 135 

Quartermaster's Department 232, 233, 234 

Subsistence Department 356 

Medical Department 437 

Pay Department 478 

Volunteer surgeons, 

appointment of, authorized 419, 438 

VoAVLES, Henry, 

appointed l)rigade major 60 



Wadsworth and Carter (Messrs.). 

n^ientioned 324 

Wadsworth, Decius, 

mentioned 534 

Wadsworth, Finn, 

appointed brigade major 56 

Wadsworth, Jeremiah, 

elected deputy commissary of purchases 262 

commissary -general of purchases 283 

given leave to resign January 1, 1780 303 

desired by Congress to continue in office until his successor qualities 303 

resigned 283 

resignation accepteil 303 

mentioned 55, 56, 238, 266, 282, 283 

Wagoners, 

how obtained 20 

corps of, authorized 161, 162, 164 

respecting pay of 161, 162 

clothing for 164, 165, 182, 302 

to receive a suit of clothes as bounty 162 

authorized; to receive pay, etc., of corporals of cavalry 210 

mentioned 451, 635 

Wagon master cieneral, 

authorized 151 

appointed 141, 152 

duties of ••. . 146, 150 

AVagon masters {see Pay; Rations; Baggage wagons; Bathorses), 

authorized 141, 171, 182, 186, 197, 206 

appointed 154, 179 

duties of 171 

deranged in 1815 to receive three months' pay 203 

mentioned 145, 156, 201 

deputy, authorized 171, 186 

appointed 182 

duties of 171 

assistant, authorized 171, 186 

Wagons {i^ee Baggage wagons; Ambulances), 

respecting impressment of 142, 270 

to be purchased 147, 180 

returns of, to be made 326 

for removal of sick and wounded, by whon^ supplied 372, 387 

respecting, of Hospital Department 376 

mentioned 145, 152, 155, 163. 179, 180, 182, 260, 421 

Waiters (,srt! Servants), 

not to be taken from the lini' 26 

staff officers entitled to one 27, 408 



INDEX. 797 

Waistcoats, Page. 

to be purchased 142 

Ward masters (see Pay; Rations), 

authorized 385, 407, 409 

duties of 385 

mentioned - 410 

Walbach, J. DE B., 

mentioned 52, 86 

Walker, Joseph, 

appointed brigade uiajor pro tem 60 

continued in office 66 

Wallace, GusxAvrs B., 

appointed brigade inspector 89 

Walton, George, 

directed to send 3 tons of steel and 5 tons of nail rods for tlie use of tlie 

army in the Northern Department 545 

War, 

in time of, retired officers may be employed 45 

Signal Corps to be increased 625 

officers who seryed in any, may wear badge adopted 43, 48 

uniform of highest rank 48, 682 

Ward, Joseph, 

elected commissary-general of musters 634 

prisoners 647 

mentioned -- 629, 637 

Ward, Samuel, 

member of committee - 537 

Warehouses {see Tobacco warehouses). 
Warner, Robert, 

to do duty of inspe(",tor 1 00 

Warrant officers, 

on the ciyil staff lial)le to arrest and trial 161, 293, 380, 490, 558, 644 

deranged in 1815 to receiye three months' pay 28, 203 

Warran, James, 

elected paymaster-general 445 

resignation accepted 446 

mentioned 443, 446 

Warren, John, 

appointed hospital physician and surgeon 389 

accepted appointment 390 

Washington, George {see Commander in Chief), 

member of committee 535 

authorized to displace all officers under rank of brigadier-general 12 

power, within 70 miles from headquarters, to continue until INIarch 1, 1778. 12 

asked to transmit a list of his appointments - - 12 

powers of, as commander in chief neyer intended to l)e superseded or cir- 
cumscribed by Congress 12 

committee to confer with, on perfecting arrangement of staff departments. 17 

authorized to appoint three brigade majors 53 

relatiye to appointment by, of an adjutant-general 57 

plan of, for a well-regulated inspectorship approved 89 

authorized to appoint inspectors and brigade inspectors 90 

api)ointment of a quartermaster-general left to 141 

to fix on locations for magazines of provisions 157 

appoint a deputy commissary of stores for the army near New York... 248 

commissary of clothing for his army 248 

clothier-general and fix his pay 251 

authorized to increase the ration of soap - - 265 

to regulate special issue of rum for gallantry of the troops in Ijattle of 

Brandy wine 268 

authorized to take provisions, etc. , for the subsistence of his army 268 

to establish magazines for storage of Hour 288 

appointment oi a commissary of artillery left to 536 

mentioned 3,4.17,53,54,85,89,90,146,147, 

155, 160, 242, 251, 252, 268, 271, 285, 449, 452, 453, 485, 486, 487, 
488, 489, 491, 535, 536, 537, 540, 543, 544, 545, 548, 550, 553, 562 
"AVashington" (ship), 

♦ mentioned "1^5 



798 INDEX. 

Washington, D. C, Page. 

respecting payment of cost of improving certain streets in 510 

examination of harbors and landings along water front of 511 

improvement of public property in 511 

memorial bridge from, to Arlington 526 

park improvements in - 528 

respecting tapping of water mains in 516 

mentioned - - - 585 

Washington Aqueduct, 

mentioned - - 507, 511, 515, 516, 523 

Washington Monument, 

mentioned — 513 

Washington Public Library, 

building for the, to be erected upon Mount Vernon square in Washington 

City - : . . - 528 

Water department, 

operations of the, in District of Columbia to l)e under engineer commis- 
sioner 519 

Watervliet Arsenal, X. Y., 

mentioned - 585, 602 

Waterworks {see Potomac Waterworks). 

Watkins, Joseph, 

commissioned major, commissary of ordnance stores 549 

mentioned 534 

Waugoshance, Mich., 

works near, mentioned 504 

Wayne, Anthony, 

mentioned -.-'-- - 58, 59, 62, 94 

Weather Bureau, 

certain duties of tlu- Sigmd Corps devolved on the 622 

mentioned 624, 625 

Western Department, mentioned 273, 291 , 453 

Weedon, George, ^ 

to discharge duties of adjutant-general temporarilv 56 

mentioned '.. ! 51, 56, 58, 59, 89 

Weeks, George H., 

mentioned 140 

Weibert, Antoixe Felix, 

appointed assistant engineer 486 

mentioned - 486 

Welsh, jJoHN, 

to be commissioned lieutenant of sappers and miners 491 

appointed quartermaster to the same 492 

Wentworth, John, 

member of committee 14, 286 

mentioned 157 

West Indies, 

respecting importation of salt from the 261 

dried hides from the 263, 547 

exportation of produce to the 537 

mentioned 540, 541 

Weston, John F., 

mentioned ., - 238 

West Point, N. Y., 

Military Academy and Corps of Engineers established at 497 

mentioned 324, 567, 570, 571 

Whales Back, N. H., 

works at, mentioned 504 

Wharton, Carpenter, 

appointed commissary to the militia about to march to New Jersey 245 

mentioned 87, 253 

Wharton, Thomas, 

mentioned - 279 

Wheat, 

bad, to be delivered to commissary of forage 158 

not to be purchased for forage 158, 159, 290 

mentioned 288, 303 

Wheaton, Henry, 

mentioned 121 



INDEX. 79^) 

Wheeler, , Page, 

contractor for cannon 546 

mentioned 546 

Whipping, 

Bureau of Refugees and Freedmen to i^rohibit 659 

Whipple, William, 

member of committee 291 

mentioned 159, 164, 299 

WnitsKY, 

malt liquor or low wines may be substituted for 333 

sugar and coffee to be issued in lieu of 341 

WniTCOMB, Asa, 

mentioned 142 

White, Hasfield, 

appointed deputy wagon master 182 

WjiiTE, Moses, 

to do duty as brigade inspector 95 

White, Robert, 

elected deputy commissary-general of issues 266 

resigned 268 

WiCKOFF, Peter, 

elected clothier-general 297 

mentioned 288 

Widows, 

respecting extension of half pay to, of officers 24, 25, 26 

mentioned 457 

Wiley, Robert, 

mentioned 563 

WiLKiNS, Jr., John, 

mentioned 140 

Wilkinson, James, 

grant of brevet of brigadier-general to, announced 59 

elected clothier-general 298 

resigned 318 

mentioned 52, 86, 238 

Williams, , 

apjiointed to act as adjutant-general pro tern 62 

mentioned 62 

Williams, — ■ — -, 

to superintend the hospital in Albany 881 

mentioned 882 

Williams, Abraham, 

continued in the office of l)rigade-maior 66 

Williams, Jonathan, 

mentioned 483 

Williams, Otiio H., 

appointed subinsi)ector 94 

Williams, Robert, 

mentioned 52 

Williams, William S., 

mem])er of committee 247 

Williams and Elliot (Messrs.), 

mentioned 328 

Williamsburg, Va., 

mentioned 395 

Willing, Thomas, 

mentioned 1 42, 240, 537 

WiLLSON, James, 

member of committee 87, 488, 539 

Wilson, Goodwin, 

promoted to rank of hospital physician and surgeon 395 

Wilson, John M., 

mentioned 483 

Windel, Penet & Co., 

mentioned 555 

Winder, Rider H., 

mentioned 121 

Winder, William H., 

mentioned 52, 86 



800 INDEX. 

Wines, l^age. 

low, may be substituted for whisky 333 

WiNYARD Bay, S. C, 

respecting improvement of 522 

WisNER, Henry, 

member of committee 538 

WiTHERsPooN, John, 

member of committee 247, 249 

mentioned 145,146,160,250,392 

Witnesses, 

respectintr, before courts-martial 125, 130, 132 

Wood, 

respecting, for use of hospitals ^ 190 

mentioned 183 

Woodbridge, Theodore, 

mentioned 63, 99 

AVooDFORD, William, 

mentioned 57, 60, 61, 89, 94 

WooDRLFF, Lewis, 

appointed deputy muster-master 634 

Wool, John E., 

mentioned 86 

Woolen goods, 

to be purchased for sale to soldiers 240 

Workmen, 

autliorized in the Ordnance Department 572, 577, 579 

in armories exempted from jury duty 576 

master, authorized in the Corps of Engineers 503 

to be designated as sergeants 590 

mentioned - 575, 576 

WOKTHINGTON, AsA, 

inspector of cattle, granted increased pay 306 

Wounded, 

respecting removal of the 179 

blankets, etc. , for the, in hospitals 273 

relief of the, before removal to hospital 380 

ambulances for the removal of the 421 

mentioned — - 368, 422 

Wright, Horatio G., 

mentioned - -183 

Writs, 

respecting, to compel attendance of witnesses 125, 130, 132 

AVrixon, , 

declined commission of chief engineer 486 

Wykoff, Henry, 

appointed to inspect the cattle for the army 326 

Wylie, Thomas, 

commissioned captain-lieutenant of artillery artificers 549 

promoted to rank of captain 553 

Wyi.lys, John Palgrave, 

appointed brigade major 55 

Wynkoop, Henry, 

member of committee 164, 300 

Wythe, George, 

member of committee -.. 246, 247 

Y. 

YAiiUiNA Bay, Oreg. 

bar of, to be examined ■• ^'^^ 

respecting improvement of ^28 

Yard (see Artillery yard; Horse yard). 
Yellowstone National Park, 

respecting road extensions and imjin )vements in the 528 

YoiNG, Joseph, 

promoted to rank of hospital physician and surgeon o9o 

Y'uLE, James, 

appointed wagon master I'^'l 

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